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It’s been a long time since Camp Actor (aka Justin James and Marlowe) released ‘Semi-Detached Soul’ and ‘This Is Not New York’ got them early attention of Radio 1’s Steve Lamacq, Erol Alkan and Jamie Reynolds (of The Klaxons). Larry Tee (DJ Mag) was moved to say, “Like Kraftwerk with better beats”. Now that’s over the top but for two blokes and some keyboards, there’s more than just a couple of synth-disco hits going on here.

‘Warmer’ claims to be a concept album of a life in the year with a spring to spring timescale. New life gets lost in deborched hedonism that slumps into depths of self-doubt before optimistically re-starting a new; or something along those lines.

With that framework in mind, tracks like the bouncey ‘Your Obsession’ is synth-pop Goldfrapp of late (and we know Mr. Alkan likes that) and the still brilliant ‘Semi-Detached Soul’ are very much the good-time side of things.

In comparison ‘Towers Of London’ and ‘Flower’ are soft synthesizer breezes over summer beaches while ‘Love And Hate Rotate’ and ‘AntiFashion’, as their titles suggest, are more darker/tortured.

So the album is like a more intelligent Klaxons meets the retrospective 70/80s synth elements of the latest LateNightTales compiled by Groove Armada (now there’s another couple of blokes that know a hit); that’s including, when they were good, the Human League and Tubeway Army!

With the album launch at next week at Elektrowerks, handily placed just around the back of The Angel, don’t be surprised if Camp Actor are this years’ Hot Chip with summer festival madness to come.

Forthcoming Gigs: Friday 7th March 08 BLITZKRIEG BOP : Punk Rock Disko + Live Bands
3 Floors of Post-Punk, electro-disko-rave mayhem !! £5 b4 11pm / £10 Door 10pm-6am
ELECTROWERKZ ,7 Torrens Street, LONDON EC1V 1NQ www.electrowerkz.com

Reviewed: Camp Actor — Warmer (Press Industries) Cat No. PRESSINDCD 004 Release date: 10th March

Links:
www.myspace.com/campactor
Gary Numan: Tubeway Army — Replicas Redux: 2008 Tour Edition (Beggars Banquet): Release date: 25-2-2008 “At the end of the ’70s Gary Numan, a 20-year old ex-punk from west London was virtually alone in seeing the possibility of a “synthesiser star”. Numan was posing on TOTP in harsh white light, bringing a touch of showbiz camp to the clipped, motorik repetitiveness of the song. From that moment on he was simultaneously branded “hero” and “villain”.
Mojo — March 2008 p45 “When we heard ‘Are Friends Electric?’ It was like the aliens had landed in the Bronx. More than Kraftwerk, Numan was the inspiration. He’s a hero. Without him they’d be no electro” — Afrika Bambaataa.