Stats’ new album Powys 1999 got its name from the Welsh town where front man Ed Seed grew up. It was recorded in a residential recording studio near that place. Seed’s idea was to make a record about where he came from. In order to create the right atmosphere for the band to ‘get’ this place, he wanted them to be able to soak in the surroundings and mountainous setting. Therefore, they all moved to this rural studio for a week.

Luckily for Stats, all of this took place in Autumn 2019. In an interview with Daily Star Online, Seed explains: “Because the point of the album was getting all the band in Wales in a room, the physicality and landscape was so important. I realised that if we had done it six months later, we wouldn’t have been able to do it.”

The band spent the week jamming and recording. Seed would then pick selections of the sessions, mash, loop and mix them together, and create songs out of them. This resulted in a sonically mind-blowing record. Influences range from straight-up electronic pop and funk to art rock and disco.

The Truth Is Naked is a stand-out track on the album. Usually, I’m not too fond of parlando (spoken word sections in songs), but here, they work very well. The spoken verses add to the dynamics of the song, as they alternate with its up-tempo choruses. Musically, I hear some echoes of Simple Minds’ Alive And Kicking in it, which is never a bad thing.

Recommended as well:
Naturalise Me
The Family Business
Lose It

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Werner Schlosser

I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.