Written by Amy Griffiths – Reviewer / Music Blogger at Electronic North
[Dec 3rd, 2016]
I’m finding more and more that no matter how much time you spend listening to music, going to shows, and paying attention to what’s being released, there’s just so much good stuff being released at the moment that sometimes, something that it should be really obvious you’ll enjoy just manages to slip through the cracks. But as a UK based electronic band who count several of my closest friends amongst their fans, and have three albums spanning almost a decade to their name, the fact that this is my first introduction to Tenek is, frankly, unforgivable.
The Imitation of Life EP is top quality synth-rock perfection, reprised and reworked across three very different but equally strong versions, topped off with a beautifully produced piano version of fellow album track A New Foundation.
Following a remastered edit of the album version, the Pre-MIDI remix features an overall slightly poppier sound which sweeps into the familiar harmonious melodies of the song. Probably my favourite track on the EP, albeit by a narrow margin, the sound here definitely leans far more towards eighties electronic influences than the original.
Pale Imitation Remix by Ghostlights is a little slower, a little darker, with an underlying rock groove to it which – whilst retaining a lot of the feel of the original sound – provides almost unexpected contrast after the previous version. And that piano version is hauntingly beautiful – but I’m admittedly an absolute sucker for a piano led piece.
Laying out the track listing like this was a great move, in my humble opinion. In terms of basic style, the second track is different enough to the original that it holds your attention in place, and likewise going in to the third one from there. Placed in reverse, with the rockier sound going on in the Ghostlights remix following directly on from what is a reasonably rocky sound to begin with, even with the difference in pace and atmosphere, I’m not sure the effect would have been as ear-catchingly punchy as it is.
An absolutely spectacular body of work, and also available as a CD digipack including a previously digital-only release of the What Kind of Friend EP, this is well worth snapping up.
Purchase on either BandCamp or visit the band’s webshop!
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