Alan Lauris: Break

Dutch composer and pianist Alan Lauris went back to the 80s for his new album Break, the decade that was rules by keyboards, drum machines, and smooth production values. A lot of the music from that dominated the charts in that period has aged badly, but he found a way to make it interesting by straying from the safe routes every once and a while. By inviting Joe Giddey, a real cello player, and trumpeter William Rowley the songs get an extra kick that zeros and ones from a keyboard will have hard time to replicate.

Heartbreak is always helpful and the various stages of grief all get an outing on this album that takes a bow to Pet Shop Boys, Level 42 (just a bit, thankfully) and Soft Cell. Synthpop as a genre surely could use a shot in the arm to start breathing again, and Lauris' take on it is just what the doctor ordered.

Alan Lauris: I Dream Of You In Black And White

Dutch composer and pianist Alan Lauris does some serious soul searching on his new single I Dream Of You In Black And White. He made the lyrics of John Coughan his own, with guitarist Leo Sienot and cellist Joe Giddey coming to his aid to create an orchestral pop song that goes through hills and valleys to mirror the emotion of the words.

Alan Lauris: Parades

Dutch composer and pianist Alan Lauris is quite content to be an outsider on his new single Parades. Why fall in step with everyone else when it is far more interesting to find one's own way? It is a tender ballad that packs a punch, with guitarist Leo Sienot weighing in with a couple of well-timed flourishes. Nice touch bowing out with a folkish outro underneath the almost defiant wordless vocals that bring the track to a close.

Alan Lauris: Break

Dutch composer and pianist Alan Lauris is in full-on bleak 80s post-punk mode on his new single Break, a dark song about foregoing religion and being disappointed in friends and family who assured him that they would have his back, no matter what. Something had to give, but in the end he came to the conclusion that there is only one person he can fully trust: himself. And maybe the fellow musicians who helped him to create this powerful accusation.