POWERPLAY: Power Glove is an Australian electronic duo named after the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) controller accessory released in 1989. Two lawyers, each armed with a Power Glove, who have been sent back from the streets of future, post apocalyptic Los Angeles 2043.
EP 1 is their first extended play, containing four synthesizer-heavy tracks; Streets of 2043, Maximum Potential, Night Force and Fantastic Lover (Johnny Moog Remix). An aggressive and creative soundscape into an alternative interpretation of our future. Listening to EP 1 is like entering a DeLorean DMC-12 time machine. I’m immediately hit in the face with a spin-kick of nostalgia as each track plays out; the soundtrack to a childhood consumed by pixels and low-budget cinematic masterpieces.
I spent the majority of my early teenage years consuming every horror/action/fantasy film I could get my hands on from the eighties. Nothing much has changed today, but back then everything was a new experience. My mum used to record as many films as she could possibly fit onto VHS tape via Long Play. I would then spend countless hours working through each tape (we had hundreds) discovering classics such as Joel Schumacher’s The Lost Boys (1987) and Richard Wenk’s Vamp (1986). The direction, cinematography, lighting, special effects…I obsessed over every detail. But what stood out from this cinematic era were the supercharged soundtracks.
Power Glove have taken their inspiration from the neon-soaked cinematic excess of the 1980’s, to create a cybernetic attack of pulsating basslines and supersonic melodies. Welcome to the ‘Streets of 2043’ as Power Glove fuse driving rhythms against a wall of digital noise; sound taken from a 16-bit era when SEGA was pioneering our vision of the future.
On the other side of the ZX Spectrum is ‘Maximum Potential’, a melodic tribute to Dolph Lundgren utilising a powerful synthetic bass sound and focus on treble creating to create the perfect dynamic. The next track however takes you by the throat and throws you onto the dancefloor! The well developed, but life-threatening melodies of ‘Night Force’ pulsate unrelenting until finally ‘Fantastic Lover (Johnny Moog Remix)’ provides the ultimate fatality with it’s vocal approach, rooted in contemporary rhythm and blues.
Succeeding where others have failed, Power Glove have successfully combined nostalgia and melody to create an extended play that will annihilate those you dare to listen. PRESS PLAY ON TAPE, REWIND, REPEAT!
EP 1, composed and arranged by Power Glove. Self-released.
EP1 is available to buy from Amazon in both the UK
