What if there was a party where people could dance without a care in the world, because no one could judge them? Dutch electronic pop duoPocket Knife Army road tested this idea when they played the bulk of the tracks from their work-in-progress album Midnight Masquerade at a show in Leiden on April 1, 2023. They wore masks, as well as most of the audience who were also invited to dress up for the occassion.
Fast forward to 2025 and the album is finally here. Desirée Coumans and Erwin Tuijl share a love for smart danceable songs, wherein the vocal approach of the Eurythmics is mixed with a Weimar-era cabaret backing (Raincoat Rendezvous), or dream up of hybrid of Yazoo and Dead Can Dance (Let Me See What's Out There) as a source of consolation.
Getting the sound right was an uphill battle sometimes. Using an old school tape machine for Way Too Early and old school synthesizers breaking down did not help, but in the end the blend of modern and vintage technology paid off in spades. There is a patina on all the tracks, which gives them a glow that could never have been realized if they had gone 100% digital. It will make things easier when they play live - provided things don't break down and break the spell of celebrating anomity.
Midnight Masquerade is a self-released album (vinyl, CD, digital). Buy it from his website. Release date: February 8.
Tracks:- Raincoat Rendezvous
- Dancing Like A Cobra
- Intruders
- Let Me See What's Out There
- Way Too Early
- The Flood
- Masquerade
- Endgame
- 02/08 Utrecht, Netherlands @ De Nijverheid
(album release show) - 05/17 Utrecht, Netherlands @ De Nijverheid
(Midnight Masquerade show)
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