Opium - Clarisse

After the re-issues of the classics of his past (both reviewed here) with The Cat Club (One Last Kiss) and Opium (Atlantean), Alex Macpherson (former bassist of The Wake, one of the best bands at Factory in the golden age of new wave) is back with a couple of fresh songs in the same vein of perfect pop traced by his previous singles, with the same amazing quality.
Clarisse (which also appears on another version with an alternative acoustic intro) just shows Alex's talent for a flawless tune for a delicious female voice (and you can't resist when she whispers 'yeah' at the end of the track) over a sophisticated instrumentation is still intact. He also can find some powerful and infectious basslines.


There's a wonderful keyboard which recalls The Wake, and a fantastic guitar which could have been on New Order's Low Life, but the whole sound and attitude just make me think of Saint Etienne if they didn't care too much about being cool and cared more for passion and had better tastes in music. The overall feeling is of a band which actually sounds more contemporary than the very most of the other bands around today... and also of a pop tune which should work enough to top the charts.
Envious is the track which was originally planned as the A side for a summer release, but we find it here and we also find why Alex thought it could have been the leading track. Some emotional keyboard chords bring the chorus, while a fabulous saxophone enriches the track.
I was lucky enough to hear the tracks before the release, but the single will be available from November 5th.
For more info you can write Opium: neuropa@talk21.com