N
o one expected
Bananarama to reinvent
themselves. Most likely,
no one wanted them
to either. One thing’s
for sure, though: Sara
Dallin and Keren
Woodward aren’t
going to mess with
the formula. Instead,
they’re going to distil it to its
purest form.
Hiring producer Richard X
for opening track Love In Stereo
is, therefore, a smart way to get
people onside, its throbbing,
Heart Of Glass synths
underpinning an affectionate
look at the way music revives
powerful associations: “With
you the music sounds better/I can’t listen alone.” Better
still, it cannily acknowledges
their audience’s maturity,
offering a sense of nostalgia
with both its opening greeting- “Been a long time” – and its
early reference to “a tape in
the dashboard.”
What the title track does
best, however, is fail to outstay
its welcome. This is one of the
greatest skills of all, and it’s
one at which Bananarama often
excel here.
As kickstarts go, then,
Love In Stereo is pretty much
immaculate, and that it’s
followed by the summer disco
fever of Dance Music – which
borrows a trick or two from
Kylie’s deathless Can’t Get
You Out My Head – is another
canny move.
The Venus-like Intoxicated
delves into similar territory as
well, the duo’s familiar unison
voices breaking into harmonies
before its chorus, and if that’s
surprisingly restrained, it’s soonoffset by Stuff Like That’s festive
fi reworks. There’s even a gentle
comedown in the Morcheeba-
like On Your Own.
Inevitably, though, some
tracks are weaker: It’s Gonna
Be Alright’s merely a pale
shadow of Stuff Like That,
Tonight’s chorus sounds like
it’s defl ating, and only the
tense crescendo towards I’m
On Fire’s climax redeems its
formulaic overexcitement and
trite sentiments.
In places, the duo also
come across as surprisingly
needy: Tonight’s “I need to
feel you”, Gotta Get Away’s
rather worrying “I wanna
feel love so bad/ Like a heart
attack”, Looking For Someone’s
demanding “I don’t expect
nothing but love” and It’s Going
To Be Alright’s “I wanted a
cowboy by my side/ I wanted a
rodeo,” which is surely doomed
to disappointment.
Still, whether or not they
offer empowerment, who listens
to lyrics when they’re dancing
to Bananarama? After all, it
ain’t what they do. It’s always
been the way that they do it.
Wyndham WallaceBANANARAMA
IN STEREO
IN SYNK★★★★
NOW BACK TO THE CORE DUO OF SARA DALLIN AND KEREN
WOODWARD, THE ‘NANA’S RETURN WITH A VENGEANCE...NEW RELEASESCLASSIC
BEST NEW RELEASE
APRIL 2019