after reading ‘lawrence’s’ review of the outstanding lost classic ‘hope of heaven’ by after reading lawrences review of nyam nyam i thought I’d put finger to iPhone to review another eclectic lost classic which I feel has real qualities and similarities to this album which was released @ the same period as the situation 2 recording. the royal family & the poor is the concept of the insular genius that is mike keane. similar in vein to contempories like matt johnson of the the and vini reilly of the durutti column, this outstanding solo project takes it’s component parts from both of the aforementioned repertoire. produced by new orders peter hook this factory release (fact95) has never had the recognition it deserves. the project has an underlying occult theme running through it’s veins from keane’s obsession aldous huxley. opening track ‘restrained in a moment’ is outstanding with it’s laidback pop ambience which could match anything from matt johnson’s ‘soul mining’ days. there is loads of light and shade to
album with electronic components of the recording slightly hinted @ new orders sound (obviously because of hook’s influence in the production but this doesn’t hinder the songs). standout tracks for me are minimalist sequencer driven ‘discipline’ and the bass driven radio egypt (complete with hook on vocodered vocals) but the more thought provoking moments are ‘power of will’ with it’s beautiful vocals and the piano ambience of ‘the dawn song’. if you like thought provoking solo artists who record under the intelligent production of what feels like the production of a band recording using soft vocals , beautiful sounding synths & minimal sounding drum rythyms similar to pink industry with shades of pyschic tv then source this 1984 release which has been re-released by the eclectic LTM label (by factory buff james nice) ps james why don’t you try and release nyam nyam’s hope of heaven as it’s well overdue a digital release
a lemoncholy communication