Detachments - Detachments

Anyone who watched the BBC's recent documentary Synth Britannia will know that around the early 1980s a group of unlikely heroes pioneered a minimalist, synth-based No Wave pop phenomenon, which eventually morphed into the New Romantic movement, which was subsequently beaten with a giant shit shovel when angst-fueled grunge and glow stick waving rave became popular in the early '90s.

So why try to repeat history? That is a pertinent question for London's Detatchments, whose attempt to replicate the work of artists like Human League I suspect isn't an ill advised effort to cash in on today's hackneyed '80s revival, but is actually a genuine fervour for the music of that era. But what's the point? With the eleven, admittedly proficient, tracks here adding nothing new whatsoever to the synth-pop canon, their self-titled debut feels as redundant as neon shades and a Frankie Say Relax t-shirt. I'm going home. [Martin Skivington]