Section 25 -- Retrofit

Nearly every Section 25 release has its own thread here on ILM and that seems right somehow. So the new album and the last one that will feature Larry Cassidy is now out, mostly being reworkings of older songs from Always Now and From the Hip, and goddamn if it isn't just as great as everything else they pretty much did. But hearing Beth Cassidy take over almost all the vocals for "Looking for a Hilltop" and hearing the band collectively kill it all over again -- Vin Cassidy is still a drumming powerhouse -- it all suddenly makes sense that the band have decided to keep going. That live show last year I saw was something else and if they ended here it would have made sense just as well but I'm glad that's not the case.

this is fantastic news, i was a bit tentative about the reworking idea. nearly fell over myself in the rush to order it but apparently it's not "out" for another 3 weeks..

I would say it's not quite note perfect (then again, part of the charm) in that there's a couple of recurrent synth bits that seem a little...lazy, but the idea of setting Vin's drums against an electronic background that itself is both newer *and* older is a good idea, as is letting Beth sing a lot of the lead straight up. The real pity here is that there won't be a full new album with the two of them as full lead singers, really, and I do like that they didn't simply try and recreate the older songs straight up, that would have defeated the purpose.

they're doing some gigs as well

i see this is out now

had a listen to the soundclips while i wait for my emusic downloads to refresh, it's clear they haven't tried to do straight 'tributes' to the earlier tracks nor do they sound like half-assed cover versions. pretty excited to hear the whole thing.

I've just been on the new Section 25 website, it's quite interesting. They've got a forum which the band actually take turns to monitor. I listened to the Retrofit album last night, it really is out there.

For all things SXXV
http://www.section25.com/forum.html

i like this a lot. it seems to avoid a lot of the traps you'd expect from a band re-recording past work, it's not especially reverent, feels more like good cover versions i guess?

i think a couple of the tracks that weren't especially in your face in their original versions benefit from sounding a bit more forceful

also kind of alarming how fresh the extensive use of the 303 sounds

It's not a 303, They use a Pro One live.

new EP 'invicta' out in 6 weeks. will be very interesting to see what they're like without larry. keeping an open mind.

it's a bit... 'the other two' ish

Peppy and upbeat?

yes. and a little lacking in bite. i like it, but..

new album perhaps less 'the other two' so much as 'bis'

perverted by language bis?

eurodisco bis

not necessarily a major problem if one likes that kind of thing

lol I heard a track from this on the wireless last week, bis comparison very apt.