New Build

Yesterday Was Lived And Lost

This review originally ran in AP 286.

Hot Chip’s Felix Martin and Al Doyle, in cahoots with composer/studio engineer Tom Hopkins, dabble in various shades of electro on Yesterday Was Lived And Lost, their debut full-length under the moniker New Build. Bustling, bleeping ’80s synth-pop (“Mercy”), swooning synth-rock in the vein of U.K. prog innovators Roxy Music (“Misery Loves Company”) and M83-style dream-pop cut with sputtering rhythms (“Silence And Muttering”) are highlights; “Medication” and “The Third One,” both of which conjure TV On The Radio’s scorched electro-funk (by way of Talking Heads), and the tender, piano-shimmered soul ballad “Last Gasp” are equally engaging. More impressive: Although the pulsating techno of “Do You Not Feel Loved” and “Behind The Shutter” resemble Hot Chip, Yesterday Was Lived And Lost reveals New Build already have a well-developed, unique voice. A must for electro geeks.

Lanark http://www.newbuildband.com

“Misery Loves Company”