- The sounds of new wave, dark wave and minimal synth have endured well past their decade of birth. Which is probably because Neue Deutsche Welle, Japanese fourth-world music and downtown disco-not-disco still sound remarkably potent, or maybe, as Will Lynch suggested in RA's end-of-year review, we've been stuck in a creative cul-de-sac for a while now. Either way, every new pastiche is more interesting when it takes us on surprising detours between styles, something that Romanian newcomer Borusiade pulls off with panache on her Jeopardy EP.
Like her champion and Cómeme labelmate Lena Willikens, Borusiade, real name Miruna Boruzescu, is a thrilling selector, one who drops Nitzer Ebb alongside DJ Harvey's Silver Apples remix and roughshod modern techno. Like Willikens, her debut EP fits nicely into this chaotic milieu. Dark, John Carpenter-esque arpeggios serve as Jeopardy's central nervous system, and "Haunted By Flashlights" might as well be a slightly ham-fisted take on the Knight Rider theme. On "Spellbound (Surrender)," Borusiade mixes her analog darkness with insouciant disco hats, lending a jaunty feel that also pervades the stunning title track.
Though "Jeopardy" is funky, the mood belies dark and frankly amazing lyrics. Boruzescu details feelings of shame with the preoccupation of lost love after being bombarded with radio news of a "dying world." It's an incisive new wave cut, and with any luck, it will be as popular as Jeffrey Sfire's comparable underground hit, "Track 2." Elsewhere, Italo signifiers color massive EBM/industrial drum kits, but it doesn't sound quite like anything else, save Willikens' Phantom Delia EP. Maybe it's time to classify this '80s-influenced style as something else entirely, a "new" new beat, a sound inspired by records most who actually lived through the decade never heard.
TracklistA1 Spellbound (Surrender)
A2 Haunted By Flashlights
B1 Jeopardy
B2 Rescue
B3 Dancer's Doom