aaamusic | On 16, Sep 2012

For such a new band, with ever so little online coverage, I was surprised to see that Wolverhampton four-piece Blak Can have already managed to accumulate nearly 5,000 ‘likes’ on Facebook, and notch up 1,400 YouTube views of their new single ‘Dark Daze’. Not bad going…

Blak Can (as I think it’s stylised – other sites have stylised it BlakCan or Black Can) make 80s synthpop, and like most contemporary bands who either dabble or fully immerse themselves with 80s synthpop, they make it nice and moody. Darkening up electronic based pop music maybe a predictable move in this day and age, but Blak Can don’t strive to make brooding, nighttime music or sinister dance music, they make straight-up 80s new wave music, with tuneful melodies and accessible instrumentation. Their success is their simplicity – lightweight, industrial drum programming, restrained post-punk guitar, one-fingered synth lines, and Ash’s everyman vocals.

The lyrics aren’t particularly inspiring, but ‘Dark Daze’ is a surprisingly welcome addition to the recently endless New Order throwbacks. And I don’t mean that in a snide way – I really am enjoying all this unashamedly New Order inspired music. In fact, I’m also really enjoying listening back over the whole New Order back catalogue, which I seem to be doing most days. Perhaps that’s because every time I’ve ventured outside of London for a music festival this summer (Sonar, Benicassim, Bestival…), I’ve been ambushed by none other than New Order and ‘Blue-f**king-Monday’.

★★★★★

Clive Rozario