❉ Future Perfect’s latest album reviewed by Ange Chan.
Originally formed in 2009, Future Perfect is Simone Owen. They produce lyrically rich, dark lyrics akin to their influences, which include the mournful darkness of Depeche Mode and Joy Division, with the experimentation element of OMD, mixed with the pop playfulness of Pet Shop Boys.
They released their first album Dirty Little Secrets in 2010 and have appeared live alongside their peers including Northern Kind, Tenek, Parralox, Avec Sans, and Vile Electrodes. Their fourth studio album Touch (released October 3, 2024) follows their 2015 release, After the Fall.
This latest offering brings a dark sensibility lyrically, mixed with EBM fast paced tracks in true Future Perfect style. The band have found their style and have run with it in an unapologetic if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it kind of way. Why would you change a winning formula?
The first track is RIP and delivers an upbeat pop song that’s a dance floor banger with melodic synths, with an ‘earworm’ riff which you’ll be humming for days. Touch, the title track, is also the latest single with an overall A-Ha vibe, providing an eminently danceable track. The pace is taken down a notch in The Glacier, with a lyric-driven song where they proudly take centre stage.
Track four is Assassin’s Eyes and probably one of my favourite tracks on the album. The EBM pace is taken up once more, to a dystopian lyric worthy of Gary Numan when he was strongly influenced by J G Ballard, with references to the ‘thought police’. Talking of assassin’s, next up we have Victoria which unapologetically character assassinates a woman “playing the victim” and the finger firmly pointed in her direction, “you know you’re guilty but will never admit the crime”. Track six is Sin (Where Angels Fall) which is another EBM-paced track with lyrics by Shane J Peters to whom this song is also dedicated.
As we move through the album, which is already having a profound effect on me, is the slower track, sung by Rebecca Owens, After the Fire, which includes elements of Joy Division’s classic Atmosphere. Lyrically, it’s worthy of the late Ian Curtis himself, as it discusses the remorsefulness of disruptive actions, with an inherent need for an unapologetic forgiveness.
Worse Mistake continues the themes of bitter regret and general feelings of distrust within a relationship, backed by fast-paced synths. The ultimate track, Ghosts, is a poignant song with complex synth arrangements which build and build throughout the track, and which is heavily laden with darker lyrics.
There are two bonus remixed tracks which come with the Bandcamp release; RIP Midnight Resistance Mix, and Sin (Where Angels Fall) People Theatre Remix which are also highly worthy of your time to listen to.
All in all, Touch is a complete delight, which takes you on a swift synth-laden journey, coupled with meaningful dark and emotive lyrics (which are helpfully listed on the Bandcamp site) alongside each song.
You can contact Future Perfect via their website www.futureperfect.org.uk or via their social media pages on the usual platforms.
❉ ‘Touch’ by Future Perfect is available via Bandcamp. Digital Album £8GBP or more.
❉ Ange Chan is a Freelance Writer, having produced two novels and six volumes of poetry. A prominent contributor to Me and the Starman (available by Cult Ink on Amazon) and lifelong lover of music, Ange is also We Are Cult’s Social Media Administrator.
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