Genre/Influences: Electro-pop, wave-pop, indie-pop.
Background/Info: The Slovenian electro-pop formation Torul recently started a new and important chapter in their career. It’s not an easy thing to replace a talented singer, but new vocalist Maj Valerij revealed amazing vocal capacities on the previously released EP “Saviour Of Love”. The new album is the fifth opus since “Dark Matters” (2010).
Content: “Reset” takes off with the amazing and sexy EP-title song “Saviour Of Love”, which according to me is one of the best electro-pop songs of 2016. I can’t say this track is fully representative for the entire album as Torul has always liked to mix different influences. Tracks move into indie-pop accentuated by guitar, but you still will notice a kind of groovy lounge-pop direction.
Diversity remains one of the main characteristics of this album. New-wave influences can be heard as well. I even noticed some passages reminding me of The Neon Judgement. There also is a song with a kind of electronic trumpet sound confirming the open-minded approach of Torul. The final song is something different; kind of Depeche Mode meets INXS.
+ + + : I like the versatility of this work while Torul sounds like they feel comfortable with most of their influences. From the outstanding” Saviour Of Love” to the brilliant groovy-pop minded “To Be Wanting You” to the guitar-wave inspired “Roll Your Dice”, this band shows amazing writing skills. The new singer sounds like he has always been part of this band. He has a real sexy and captivating timbre of voice. Last, but not least I’ve been once more seduced by the professional production process of this work.
– – – : There are just a few cuts, which left me rather unmoved. Torul again explores new ideas, which finally resulted in a kind of experimental dream-pop and that’s not exactly the best part of the work.
Conclusion: “Reset” is an appropriated title for this new opus revealing a new and talented singer while the sound remains a hot and exciting electro-pop style.
Best songs: “Saviour Of Love”, “To Be Wanting You”, “Roll Your Dice”, “Like A Sound”, “The Prize”.
Rate: (8).
Band: www.torul–recordings.net / www.facebook.com/torul
Label: www.infacted–recordings.de / www.facebook.com/pages/Infacted–Recordings/124099254321690
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