Song of the day – 74: Echoes In Rows

This song is by Adam Leonard.

Actually, this song is by Adam Leonard as one-half of Echoes In Rows. (The other half is one David Ansara, playing some fine analogue synths.) Adam doesn’t normally remotely sound like this. I once wrote of Adam Leonard (solo) that he’d made a “Charming, ramshackle album that whirls and fidgets round the muddy pastoral fields of middle England; here, a little Robyn Hitchcock, there some Syd Barrett whimsy and Swell Maps pout… even the odd sarcastic E. Smith colloquialism. Nice.” That is way misleading, in the context of this music, however – not least because it’s pure, fully rounded-out, delightfully and un-regretfully, late 70s retro electronica (OMD, Gary Numan). Or, as Adam himself puts it, “2 males, one with a moustache and one with eyeliner. The Sparks template”.

Actually, if you can pin down the lyric Adam has taken the band-name from, you can figure out what the music sounds like before you actually listen to it. Or you could just listen to it straight out. Which is probably easier, now I think about it. Here’s the link. The song is called ‘Brian Aldiss’, after the sci-fi writer – and it’s very of its times. The late 70s. I hope I made that clear already. Most excellent stuff if totally retro. And we’ll pretend right now that you aren’t going to cheat and look at the promo Amazon link at the end of this entry, OK?

Echoes In Rows – Brian Aldiss

by Everett True

My name is Everett True. I am a music critic. This is what I do. I criticise music. The clue is in my job description – music critic. I do not consider myself a journalist, as I do not research or report hard news. I do not consider myself a commentator as I believe that everyone should be a participant. I criticise people and in return I am not surprised if other people criticise me. It is part of the whole deal of being in the public arena. I am Everett True. Believe in me and I have power like a God. Quit believing in me and I no longer exist.