Social Union – Fall Into Me (EP – Blackjack Illuminist Records)
Genre/Influences: Dark-Pop, Wave-Pop, Dream-Pop.
Format: Digital, CD, cassette.
Background/Info: Blackjack Illuminist welcome this duo from New-Zealand unleashing their debut-EP featuring four songs. Side-Line premiered the EP’s second single, “Choke”, ahead of release.
Content: Social Union mixes typical 80s elements of Wave-Pop with a more evasive kind of Dark/Dream-Pop. There’s a perfect osmosis between the female vocals and the guitar play, which is more emerging during the last 2 cuts.
+ + + : I like the retro elements with a refreshing touch on top. The guitar playing injects the spirit of this record, which is alternating darkness and evasion. The vocals have something mysterious and fragile, which sounds in perfect harmony with the sound. Both the debut- and last song are worthy of examination.
– – – : It’s just a pity we only get four cuts. An album would be cool.
Conclusion: This is an excellent debut-EP, which only appeals for more.
Best songs: “Fall Into Me”, “Our Hands Don’t Fit”.
Rate: 8.
Artist: www.facebook.com/SocialUnionMusic
Label: www.facebook.com/Blackjack.Illuminist
About Social Union
Social Union is a dark synth-pop duo from Ōtautahi (Christchurch), New Zealand, formed by Vanilla Martin and Luke Penrose. Martin brings a background in contemporary and classic jazz performance, while Penrose has played in punk and post-punk bands including The Tacks, Master Blaster, Blamethrower, Zhukov, Hög and Club Stupid. The duo cites influences including Molchat Doma and The National, alongside Soviet brutalist architecture. Debut EP “Fall Into Me” was released on Blackjack Illuminist Records, preceded by the single “Choke”.
Support Side-Line
More people read Side-Line than ever, and there is still no paywall and no advertising. Readers pay for it instead - from $5 a month.
Why we ask
Advertising revenues across the media are falling fast. Unlike many news organisations we have not put up a paywall, and we refuse to add annoying advertising, so we need to ask for your help. Side-Line’s independent journalism takes time, money and hard work to produce, and we do it to push the artists we like, who are equally fighting to survive.
Handled by PayPal.
I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.
