WITHOUT THIS YOU CAN NEVER CHANGE
"Endlessly listenable, hook-filled ballads filled with glistening synths and an electronic-orchestral background. This is how pop music should sound." – Indieville
While plenty of indie rockers have flirted with synthpop (The Postal Service, Magnetic Fields, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah), the Australian one-man band Space March is one of the few synthpop acts to receive acclaim in the indie scene. With a mix of Britpop-inspired guitar work and energetic Erasure-esque club beats, Space March's 2004 self-titled debut scored top spots in both the Chicago Reader's year-end list and the Village Voice's Pazz and Jop poll. This year's follow-up, Without This You Can Never Change (Ninthwave/Death By Karaoke), finds Space March continuing to weave shimmering synthesizers and buzzing guitars around the distinctive voice and lyrics of songwriter/producer Craig Simmons.
"Craig Simmons of the bouncy Australian synth-pop duo Electrosquad has released a surprisingly somber solo album that mixes the Magnetic Fields, Erasure, and a dollop of Momus." – Chicago Reader (debut album)
The opening track, "About To Explode" plots the course for the rest of Without This..., pulsing on throbbing electro bass and arpeggios until guitars and gospel organs come crashing in. "Out of Touch" reverses that formula, kicking off with strumming guitars and a tight rock beat that give way to spacious synth textures in the chorus. "Time Will Make A Fool Out of Me" manages to make processed robot vocals sound soulful by surrounding them with more organic (or at least organic-sounding) instruments. Through all the songs, Simmons' lyrics and delivery are equal parts cheeky ("seeing you – like military detention") and sincere ("I want to make you more like me / I want to shape the world I see"), lightening the often melancholy themes with disarming wit and lilting melodies.
"Well made synthpop which does not waste time trying to sound like Depeche Mode... earthy and a bit 'indie'." – Elektrauma (Germany)
Before founding Space March, Simmons spent the 1990s playing straight-up New Wave synthpop with the band Electrosquad, attracting a cult following among the Scandinavian goths and German computer hackers who make up the "modern synthpop" scene. However, as Simmons grew increasingly influenced by John Lennon and James Bond composer John Barry, Electrosquad's music moved away from synthpop and towards indie rock. Without This You Can Never Change represents the most seamless blending to date of Simmons' danceclub roots and indie-pop inclinations.
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