Stranger Things

by Marc Almond

Overview

For his follow-up to Open All Night, Marc Almond chose to work with a new partner, keyboardist and Iceland native Johann Johannson. A musical figure of some renown in his home country, with both his own projects Lhooq and Dip and his work with other acts, including the Hafler Trio, Johannson brought a very consciously cinematic touch to Stranger Things. Call it his own take on John Barry-touched trip-hop, though with generally less emphasis on rhythm and more on the dramatic strings, which he often arranged himself, though others assist in that role too. Almond himself, meanwhile, sounds in absolutely excellent voice -- indeed, arguably he's at a technical peak, with little evidence of the emotional cracking that has often marked his work. Lyrically, his reflections on love and lust are some of his calmest -- there's sparks at points, like on "Come Out," but little of his memorable turns of phrase. As a result, Stranger Things falls somewhere in the middle range of Almond albums -- it's no disaster, by any means, but it's definitely an album rewarding repeated listenings rather than immediately connecting. Where Open All Night was dark, sly, and desperate, Stranger Things, a few songs aside like the brassy "Dancer" and "When It's Your Time," is dreamy, swoony, and much more subtly involving. Consider the orchestration on "Born to Cry," which turns a fine song into a really great one, a Shirley Bassey-sung spy movie theme for a new century. "Glorious," which opens and, in an instrumental reprise, closes the album, is the clear standout on the record, having something of the same sweep and inspiration of "Meet Me In My Dream" from Tenement Symphony. Other highlights include "Lights," another in Almond's long-running series of songs about the romance of urban landscapes at night, the glitch-techno tinged "Moonbathe Skin," and the both moody and pretty crawl of the brilliantly titled "Love In a Time of Science." ~ Ned Raggett

Product Details

Release Date:	05/27/2022
Label:	Imports
UPC:	5013929850019
Rank:	88867

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Marc Almond   Primary Artist
Rosenstolz   Primary Artist
Replicant   Primary Artist,Primary Artist
Trash Palace   Primary Artist
Laska Omnia   Primary Artist
Hoerdjur Bragason   Organ (Hammond)
John Green   Strings,Keyboards
Simon Langford   Bass,Keyboards
Samuel Jon Samuelson   Conductor
Sara Gundmundsdottir   Vocals (Background)
Johann Johannsson   Piano,Keyboards,Stylophone,Arp Odyssey,Synthesizer,Glockenspiel,Farfisa Organ,Fender Rhodes,Arp Explorer I,Organ (Hammond)
Johnny Green   Strings,Keyboards
Neal Whitmore   Guitar
Sam Samuelson   Conductor,Orchestra
Oleg Belov   Keyboards
Keen K   Keyboards
Siggi Baldursson   Drums,Percussion
Petur Hallgrimsson   Guitar

Technical Credits

Petur Hallgrimsson   Composer
John Green   Arranger,Composer
Ulf Leo Sommer   Composer
AnNa R.   Composer
Kinky Roland   Producer,Recreation,Remix Engineer
Serge Gainsbourg   Composer
Dimitri Tikovoi   Producer
Luke Gordon   Programming
Michel Polnareff   Composer
Samuel Jon Samuelson   Orchestration,String Arrangements
Marc Almond   Composer,Producer,Pre-Production
Simon Langford   String Arrangements
Vidjar Hakon Gislason   Programming
Peter Plate   Composer
Divider   Mixing,Remix Engineer
Johann   Producer
Charles Aznavour   Composer
Johann Johannsson   Composer,Musician,Producer,Mastering,Programming,Orchestration,String Arrangements
Whitmore   Composer
Johnny Green   Arranger,Composer
Neal Whitmore   Composer,Producer,String Arrangements
Birgir Sigurosson   Composer
Sam Samuelson   Orchestration,String Arrangements,Strings Orchestrator
Andrei Samsonov   Mixing,Composer,Producer,Programming
Erich Segal   Composer
Jean-Philippe Badoui   Engineer
Robert Hallgrimson   Composer
Keen K   Remixing,Remix Engineer,Additional Production
Dave Turner   Mastering
Ola Sjonneby   Composer
Siggi Baldursson   Composer