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< Modernaire
Velvet Never Dries
words by Mandy Drake
It’s going to take divine intervention for the city of Manchester to hold on to melodramatic synth-pop duo Modernaire. “Manchester, if you rain on me again, I’m packing up my suitcase and taking the next train,” threatens singer Hannah through ‘Rain’ - a modestly paced dance track about “dismal Northern showers” that squelches like the leaky boots Hannah grumbles about.And, with it on the rocks between Modernaire and their hometown, we’ve taken it upon ourselves to rally the welcoming committee for when this pair’s parade next gets rained on, literally. Let’s just hope they choose London as their next home, because these two are bringing the most interesting, original electronic pop around right now. And it’s ultimately due to their lyrics.
Not since Faithless got all political have lyrics and their delivery been as focal within dance music as they are here, on this 7-track debut mini album. But Modernaire are not interested is blasting Tony B-LIAR! or the fatty whose recently filled his boots. Why would they be when murderous, sinister fiction is a lot more fun?
‘Bloodshed In The Woodshed’ would certainly be less charming if Hannah’s racing through of imaginative ways to die (“trip wire, small fire, bathing with a hairdryer” etc) was in fact a propaganda jab at the establishment. And ‘Scalpel’s’ hook of “The NHS can’t cure my distress” shouldn’t have to be any more than the perfect modern love song it is, backed by the space invader beats and zaps of synth pilot Alex.
With a clear penchant for tales grim, Modernaire even re-visit Hot Puppies’ psycho tale of ‘Terry’, but it’s the medieval black story of ‘Bonnie And Reade’ that sees Alex and Hannah at their most complimenting. He loops Sean Paul hand claps that somehow magnify her multi-tracked angelic “If you fought like a man you wouldn’t be hanging like a dog” dis, which has us checking BBC weather for when rain is next forecast in the North West.
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