Alison Moyet was a pioneer in the 80s. She was at the front of the rise of experimental, high energy synth-pop with Yazoo (from which you probably know “Only You”, as that’s been covered by the likes of Kylie Minogue with James Corden, and Enrique Iglesias (in Spanish)). After Yazoo, Alison went solo and became a big pop singer, best known for her “Alf” album featuring her hits “Love Resurrection” and, one of my favorite songs of all times, “All Cried Out”.
Over the next several years, she kept producing more hits and she also hang on to her experimental mind, and brushed shoulders with a bit of jazz, which resulted in two more big hits “That Ole Devil Called Love” and ”Love Letters”, which were never featured on albums.
I actually know that she has kept releasing music until the middle of the 90s and I got myself a Greatest Hits compilation of her songs somewhere in the early 00s, but I never knew she actually returned in 2002 and also returned to her very roots: experimental electronic music and about a decade later, she even returned to synth-pop.
Now, she’s about to release another new album and I’m surprised that it seems to incorporate most of what I know her for. The album, “Other”, will be released on June 16th 2017. To promote the album, she’s released the title track and it’s a beautiful piano ballad with pure vocals, slight jazz influences and poetry.
Her deep voice hasn’t changed all that much. If anything, it has gotten even more depth than before. The song is a bit misleading for what could be to come. You would think she’s coming back with more songs like this, but that’s where another track, that she’s uploaded as a lyrics video, has brought in some dimension.
If, for whatever reason, you got bored listening to “Other”, maybe you should check out “Reassuring Pinches” instead. It may feel like it starts out sounding a bit dark, but within no-time it’ll show you what she’s still made of. It’s experimental, it’s electronic and it brings her roots together with a wisdom that only comes with time, because this song is lyrically complex and poetic. Therefore, it’s incredibly refreshing.
Alison is making her way across various festivals this summer before going on a solo tour at the end of the year. So far, it looks like she’s performing her old material as well, so I’m definitely considering seeing her somewhere as no “other” has got her voice.
