Bristol’s Phonseca have such a lovely, warm aura that it’s difficult not to be enraptured by it. That is evident right from the off, with the instrumental opener of Everything Lasts Forever, the ravishing ‘Neon Lights, The Moon And Me‘, which begins with the kind of stripped back early eighties synths that were favoured by the likes of Yazoo and early Depeche Mode, but then builds with nineties dance style drum machine motifs and smooth strings that also push it halfway towards classical. It’s like a pleasant breeze on a hot, sunny day and a great way to start the album.
The wistful ‘Staring At The Sea‘ is equally affecting, lying somewhere between Saint Etienne, Dubstar and Sarah Brightman. If that means seductively intelligent, pretty pop songs, but with a sense of drama, then bring it on. ‘English Night’ too, has a sensitive allure, but with a six o’clock in the morning kind of air about it. Honestly, it feels like being in love.
‘Chasing Sleep’ is more like incidental music, perhaps not unsurprisingly conveying a dreamlike state through its four and a half minutes, sound effects transporting the listener to the sea shore as the waves crash while you take a relaxing nap, and ‘When Night Equals Day‘ reintroduces the outfit’s brilliant Swedish vocalist Kristina Sheppard back to the fray. Her laid back vocal style is one of the most appealing things about Phonseca and this gentle lullaby is no exception.
Conversely, the group’s not unappealing version of Petula Clark‘s signature tune ‘Downtown‘ seems bafflingly out of place on this record. There’s nothing wrong with it at all but I feel it would have maybe served them better as a bonus track and certainly not as the focal point of what is otherwise a perfectly coherent record. I don’t really get it.
We’re back on track with the bright, foot tapping ‘Inside A Memory‘, Sheppard’s exquisite vocal once again elevating the song with a resigned, pensive emotion that is altogether heart-wrenching and relatable. Even better is the slightly odd title track ‘Everything Lasts Forever‘, the spoken word narrative being somewhat unintelligible yet somehow ultimately very calming, in the same way that The Orb‘s ‘Little Fluffy Clouds’ was.
The record ends with the sparsely beautiful solo piano tune that is ‘Our Star‘, tender and thought provoking, like a ‘Song For Guy’ for the twentieth century.
If you like music that helps you relax, then Everything Lasts Forever should be on your radar. It’s really quite lovely.
Everything Lasts Forever is out now on The Old Bad Habits Label.
