Rating: ****
Electro-pop star Bright Light Bright Light is often described as an “up-and-coming star,” but after releasing music for the past 14 years – with Fun City his fourth LP – he’s more than proven his merit as cemented himself as a master of his craft.
Starting out as Rod Thomas, the singer, who grew up in a small village near Neath, Wales, before moving to London and later New York, has worked with some of the biggest names in music, including Elton John and Scissor Sisters, and last year toured with Cher.
The consistent quality of his songwriting and ear for hits has earned him respect across the industry and, on his latest release, Thomas works with big shots like Andy Bell (of Erasure) and Jake Shears (of Scissor Sisters), along with stars including Australian singers Brendan MacLean and Sam Sparro – all members of the LGBTQ+ community.
In fact, 11 of Fun City’s 12 tracks are collaborations – but where the album succeeds is in the construction of the songs, all of which translate as true collaborations and never veer into the ‘featured artist’ territory. That is, there’s no sense of competition on this album, just mutual respect among the artists, who play to each other’s strengths and allow one another to shine.
From the outset, Rod and Brendan MacLean alternate lines on Touchy, while the harmonies on Jake Shears collaboration Sensation lift the irresistible chorus to another level.
Sonically, Fun City sits among the best ‘retro wave’ releases of recent years – think Nina’s Synthian – and while fundamentally a dance record, it’s not cover-to-cover bangers (which would be bloody amazing).
However, Fun City succeeds at maintaining a consistent level of energy that lends itself to the concept of the album; this isn’t about ‘moments’, it’s about a mindset or a lifestyle – “Fun City”.
From the artwork to the videos, that’s executed throughout the campaign, which transports you into the music whilst reassuring that those themes can be real life too. The I Used To Be Cool video, for example, toys with the notion of a ‘real-life fantasy’, while It’s Alright, It’s OK is about living the reality that you feel.
It’s true that Rod has never quite landed the success he deserves as Bright Light Bright Light – but maybe the past 14 years (and beyond) have been leading up until this day, and this album…
As I write this review, I’m listening to Good at Goodbyes, featuring Andy Bell, and it’s as good as anything on Erasure’s latest album, The Neon.
That record gave the duo their highest-charting release since 1994 earlier this year – and if the universal acclaim, overwhelming fan response and quality of the music on Fun City is anything to go by, it might just do that for Rod Thomas and Bright Light Bright Light too.
