CFCF – Outside (2013)

Over the past four years, Canadian Mike Silver has operated under the name CFCF, more often than not creating a remarkable blend of innovative electronic music. That began with his surprising debut Continent, which arrived at a time when the ’80s-retro sound was not as fashionable as it is today.

The instrumental opener “Beyond Light” sets the tone for his new project, called Outside, as hypnotic keyboards pave the way for militaristic drums reminiscent of early New Order. The harmonizing vocals spark memories of New Romantics heroes such as China Crisis or even Tears For Fears.

Dream pop-like sequences are absolutely in vogue this year and, perhaps due to this, Silver persists with this sound. Unfortunately, in its entirety, Outside doesn’t offer the listener enough variety. Another interesting moment arrives with “Find,” with its meditative rhythms and delicate synth-sounds. However, overall Outside feels more like a collection of individual songs rather than a whole piece, offering the listener a sense of cohesion only for a brief moments at a time.

The annoying thing is that, from previous efforts, we know that CFCF can create significantly better music. One can only hope that he will prove it again in the future.

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Mike Dostert

Luxembourg resident Mike Dostert has written about music for more than two decades, with work appearing in a local newspaper, via his own independent music magazine and at the web sites www.music-brain.com and lux-culture.jimdo.com. He has also worked for 20 years as a DJ and radio host. Contact Something Else! at [email protected].

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