Since the release of Ice Choir's 2012 album, Afar, Kurt Feldman, the man behind their uncannily accurate '80s pop re-creation, stayed very busy. After leaving his drum post with the Pains of Being Pure at Heart, he worked on records with No Joy, Chairlift, and Kristin Kontrol, branched out into movie and game scores, and did sound design to pay the bills. Taking a break from all these things, he found time to make another brilliantly shiny synth pop album of his own. Released in 2016, Designs in Rhythm is another volume of Feldman's undying love for the smooth and shiny pop sounds of the 1980s. Like Afar, the album is made up of his achingly pretty vocals, lots of very sophisticated melodies, pleasingly factory-fresh synths, cheesily processed guitars, and basically every production trick in the book. It definitely walks the line between impressive and precious, and would spill over into the latter category if not for Feldman's way with a sharp hook and his note-perfect, nary-a-wrong-move production. Much of the album sounds like an OMD or ABC or Scritti Politti album with all the fluff stripped away and only the bright and shiny parts left. There are no failed experiments, no corny crossover attempts, and no sappy ballads, which means it's a pretty streamlined listen. The flip side of that is a lack of songs that truly stand out. There isn't a "Be Near Me" here or an "Absolute" either; that would be too much to ask. Instead, Designs is a bright parade of songs that sound like minor chart hits from 1985. "Amorous in Your Absence" definitely would have scared the lower reaches of the charts; the almost painfully romantic "Unprepared" would have too. Who knows, given an interesting hairstyle or a splashy video, maybe they could have gone farther. In 2016, they sound like first-rate nostalgia made by a talented guy who really knows his stuff inside and out. Feldman's adoration of the cheesiest, most disposable synth pop of the era seemingly knows no bounds, and his re-creation of it is impressive and fun. Like Afar, Designs in Rhythm is essential listening for '80s lovers while still sounding modern enough to steer clear of bland pastiche territory. ~ Tim Sendra, Rovi

1		Let's Music
2		Unprepared
3		Designs In Rhythm
4		Windsurf
5		Variant
6		Spectacle
7		Noosphering
8		Amorous In Your Absence
9		Comfortable
10		The Garden Of Verse

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