Made almost entirely by Joseph Mount in a two-week period in France (where he has lived the past few years), Summer 08 harks back intentionally to that period in his life when his second album, Nights Out, had come out, and suddenly he was 'enjoying' the fruits of life as a cult artist and all that implies. With this loose concept in mind, Mount has said of the new album that he thinks of scenarios and memories of that time and accentuates them, exploring what make these memories, and why he's thinking of them.

Moreover, he's ditched the band that grew up with him over the last two albums: The English Riviera and Love Letters, the latter threatening to turn him and the band into pop stars, in particular thanks to the upbeat and pounding Motown beats of the hugely infectious Love Letters. The idea of a proper band and making music in big studios appealed to him at the time, but instead of capitalising on that, he's gone back to his roots as essentially a bedroom producer, one who fell in love with old school electro and dance in general, and had no real belief that he would become a successful artist, as well as remixer to many. Life, too, has a way of getting in the way, and with this move back to basics, it may also be a reflection of the fact he's done with touring for the time being, preferring instead to concentrate on helping bring up his two young children. Don't expect to see many of these new songs performed live.

But while he is primarily a solo producer (albeit with help from outside producers and mixers), he's more akin to the likes of Todd Rundgren or Prince, artists who play most everything on some of their records. While not in the league of the aforementioned in terms of virtuosity, Mount is still a competent 'real' musician, able to turn his hands to drums, guitars and keys, in fashioning a music that sounds on the surface electronic, but is in fact largely his voice, instruments, and a little bit of studio/effects trickery here and there. Most importantly, he can write a damn good song, and Summer 08 is full of them, much in the style of the classicist Love Letters album, as opposed to the more experimental and harsher Nights Out.

With a production that nods to the past but sits firmly in the present, Mount’s voice is evident more than ever, a sound that is largely appropriately restrained within its often falsetto register. And, in keeping with his output to date, Summer 08 is wildly eclectic, whilst retaining key elements that make a Metronomy record – i.e. the extensive use of synths and keys in creating melodies and textures, that veer from the deeply melancholic to infectious playfulness, beginning with the wonky Frank Zappa meets David Bowie via LCD post-disco grooves of ‘Back Together’. One of the most forceful songs he's ever committed to tape, and featuring a neat little drum solo, plus some comedy vocals in that Zappa vein, it then segues suddenly but effortlessly into a more fluid and decorous disco song, recalling ‘The Bay’, from The English Riviera.

The song titles give some of the content away throughout. Such as ‘Miami Logic’, which features a couple of snaking and upfront synths, the synths sometimes mimicking the sound of the guitar (or maybe it’s the guitar mimicking a synth?) and ‘Old Skool’, which includes an early inspiration of his, Mixmaster Mike, on the turntables, scratching up a mini storm within the moody vintage electro/house vibes (cowbell 'n' all), topped off by Mount's reflections on celebrity, money and stardom, a theme that he has returned to repeatedly over the years: "I love acting, I'm not acting / You keep your friends, I'll keep my friends / Have a party in the West End / Make some money, make more money / With your friends, throw a party.” These are some typically acerbic words delivered in his understated soulful and warm way. And the booming Run DMC-inspired beats which opens up ‘16 Beat’ is about his love affair with the drum machine, a tool he used to use a lot, but now just every now and then, such as here. ‘16 Beat’ mimics, yet contemporises early electro hip-hop house, the clanging triangle and hand claps, a feature of the backbeat.

Mount gets out his big searing bass synth for ‘Hang Me Out To Dry’, a song that was resurrected after being tried out for The English Riviera. It features the pure pop tones of Robyn, while the bass is the predominant feature of the moody Mick Slow, this time Mount approximating the fretless flanger sound of Barry Adamson in his Magazine days, as he repeats the deep and melodic motif throughout, overlaid by submerged synths, and a minimal drum rhythm in creating a warped dream-like soundscape. And the bass sound also impresses on the more funked up ‘My House’, a track that harks back to the post-punk/new wave days of the aforementioned Magazine and with a hint of Simple Minds in the mix, via the mix of bass and synths. A meaty bass line also underpins the simple yet ridiculously infectious ‘Night Owl’, all these songs flowing properly, never jarring or irritating, something he was prone to do on occasion, to get a little too flippant with his musical ideas and sounds.

With Summer 08, Mount has fashioned an extraordinary electro-pop album, full of high-quality gems, displaying his top notch songcraft ability that is the secret to his success; that rare ability to write memorable melodies allied to a knack for knowingly stitching elements together in a pleasing way, and producing sounds and textures that can wrap you up and make you feel warm and secure. A record that could, indeed should, satisfy those who like the early stuff and those who prefer the more recent band stuff.
Jeff Hemmings

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