Jackson And His Computerband – Glow

You find something new to latch onto with each listen...

Thanks to Parisian Jackson Fourgeaud’s slightly gauche sobriquet and his keen appropriation of the more tinny aspects of ‘80s synthpop, you’d be forgiven for assuming ‘Glow’ was just one big, arch, hipster in-joke.

However, given time and consideration, you’ll come to learn that Jackson’s second LP, arriving eight years after his 2005 debut ‘Smash’, is a record that is bursting at the seams with ideas, and defies easy categorisation.

There’s the synthpop aspect, sure, but we also take in house, techno, rock and even the more hypnagogic elements of the hyper-modern shopping mall that is vaporave. Vocals pinball around the tracks, sometimes treated with the harshest of electronic effects. But despite the inhuman nature of it all, the tale of android amnesia on ‘Memory’ is genuinely affecting.

The sheer breathlessness of it all can seem daunting at times, but it ensures that you find something new to latch onto with each repeat listen, and you come away wondering why all artists can’t have such a healthy disregard for out-dated notions of genre.

‘Glow’ is that rarest of beasts: a dance album that is equally as good on the dancefloor as it is at home. Top work, Jackson, and a hearty pat on the back for your Computerband, too.

8/10

Words: Joe Rivers

– – –

– – –

Get the best of Clash on your iPhone – download the app here

-
Join the Clash mailing list for up to the minute music, fashion and film news.