Positronic is the electro/synthpop project of Michael McDannold, who is from California in the states and has been on the independent electronic music scene for a number of years.
The new album "To The Sky" is the follow-up to the album "Into The Blue", released in April 2023.
So what does the new album have to offer, well if you are a fan of Erasure you are in for a real treat.....
The album opens with the punchy and infectious title track, which has a powerful chorus, excellent confident vocals, a track Mr Clarke himself would have loved to have written, brilliant track and it is clear why it was chosen as a single.
"Beat Of Love" has an excellent drum opening and again is a very engaging track, superb synth melodies, the synth sounds are awesome, a well structured synthpop ditty, excellent once again, one of the things that stand out even at this stage of my review is how layered the songs are, lots of intertwining melodies.
"Find Our Way" is another track on the album released as a single and it is easy to see why, its upbeat and catchy, love that snare drum that cuts through the synth backdrop, such a positive feel to these songs and there is a confidence in the way Michael has approached these songs, a song full of energy, superb!
Next we have "Let It Be", an achingly beautiful mid-paced track on which Michaels vocal really excels, lovely synth melodies, so uplifting.
"Intersession" is a short sequencer based interlude with an excellent throbbing bass-line.
Next on the album we have the track "Coming Home", sequencers are in full force and the song has a wonderful and powerful bass-line, a well structured song with wonderful sounds and a passionate vocal, one of the best tracks on the album.
"I Need More" has a fabulous Erasure vibe, this album is awash with beautifully created melody lines, which are the key ingredients on this blockbuster of a synthpop track, the vocal delivery is outstanding, for me this is the best Michael has sounded vocally, he oozes confidence, clearly driven by the quality of the songs written for this album.
"Elixir" is fantastic, a slower paced track with nice rhythm parts and beautiful melodic moments, a really strong song.
What follows is another instrumental interlude that is awash with pads and a strong melody.
Michael clearly loves Erasure and is heavily inspired by the synthpop duo, so it is only right an Erasure song features on this album, and boy what a challenging choice he has made, the wonderful "Sono Luminus", he delivers a magnificent rendition of this Erasure classic, wow, the music is stunning and Michael delivers a vocal of the highest quality, outstanding, what more can I say....you simply need to hear it!
Next we have "Grace" (no, not an Erasure cover) and once again Michael has delivered, a superb song, another synthpop banger, it has a fantastic middle 8, very Mr Clarke, another one for the electronic music dancefloor, another outstanding track.
"Surrender" is the latest single to be released from the album, to be honest pretty much every track on the album could be a single! "Surrender" is once again a flawless synthpop track that packs a punch, with a cracking chorus.
The album closes with the track "Saying Goodbye", which is a perfect way to close the album, a solid track which has so many melodic highlights.
Sometimes you get to hear an album of unbelievable quality from beginning to the end, that just blows you away and this album deservedly sits in that category, an outstanding piece of work.
Production is amazing, song writing is of the highest level, the stars have aligned on this album, synthpop perfection 10/10
The album is out on June 21st and will be available via RetroSynth Records on the Positronic Bandcamp page:
https://iampositronic.bandcamp.com/
