- It has been many years since Melbourne’s Cut Copy were the Bright New Things of the Australian live music community. After the rapturous response to their 2008 album In Ghost Colours, their popularity has continued overseas while gradually waning in their home country.
Keen observers, however, have frequently marvelled at the band’s continued re-energising of various musical eras in their music, from the psychedelic colours of 2011’s long-player Zonoscope and the early ‘90's Madchester revivalism of 2013’s Free Your Mind to the elegant post-punk dance tunes of 2017’s Haiku From Zero.
A combination of a keen ear for detail and an irresistible way with a pop hook have ensured that Cut Copy always have something worthwhile to deliver for those willing to continue the journey. Which brings us to their latest album Freeze, Melt, easily the band’s most electronic-sounding record since the bedroom-recorded abstracts of 2001’s I Thought Of Numbers EP.
That said, the group have not taken away their keen sense of melody, though the hooks are more subtle than usual. The most apparent aspect to the record immediately is how it sounds – the synths and drum programs are simultaneously sparser and more stately than anything in their backcatalogue. With plenty of space between instruments, the synths sound like they are carved from stone, with only the essentials kept in the mix.
It may be a disappointment for those looking for typical Cut Copy dance pop anthems, but for those who have delved deeper into their creativity, the album will yet another treat. Opening track Cold Water has dance beats, but they are minimal and unobtrusive, letting Dan Whitford’s floating vocal and twinkles of melody dominate the song. Even better is Love Is All We Share, a slow jam with an almost vaporwave sense of wooziness and sad nostalgia. Stop, Horizon and Rain are moodier and more atmospheric, Whitford’s vocal veering in and out over soundscapes reminiscent of Conrad Schnitzler or Tangerine Dream’s more austere moments. Latest single Running In The Grass, meanwhile, almost recalls '80's art rockers Japan with its mid-tempo rhythm and Asian tinges of melody.
Like all Cut Copy albums, Freeze, Melt has a sonic thread that runs throughout the record and makes it unique from all of the band’s other releases. Whether or not you’ve continued to follow Cut Copy since their heyday, they continue to be an intriguing group for anyone who has an interest in electronic music and the many ways it can be reinvented.
- Matt Thrower.