Released right in the middle of the 'bloghouse era' - to be exact, August 2010 - the debut album from Melbourne based electronic music project Miami Horror, which was a solo project at the time consisting solely of Benjamin Plant is, to put it simply - an absolutely gorgeous record that manages to balance the sounds of nu disco akin to the stuff being released on Cut Copy's label Cutters during their late 2000s prime thanks to acts such as Knightlife and Nile Delta, synthwave and near flawless dance pop that has lots of French touch influence sprinkled throughout for good measure, particularly during Illumination's opening tracks.
I first found out about Miami Horror around a year ago when listening to the first compilation released by legendary Lincoln-based label Moda (keen readers will know that it was founded by former Radio 1 residents Jaymo and Andy George!) - and I was very quickly floored upon hearing hit single I Look To You (which famously features New Zealander Kimbra on vocals!) for the first time as an almost sixteen year old, so Illumination made its way onto my 'must listen' list, where it unfortunately sat for around fifteen months, before I decided to give it a spin for the first time a few days ago, and let me tell you, readers - it was an extremely captivating listen!
Right from the get-go, Illumination makes its aims and intentions extremely clear. At heart, it's a pop album that's meant to make you dance, yet feel nostalgic - and the record's first quarter contains some of the strongest tracks on it - the immensely beautiful Infinite Canyons, which almost feels chillwave-esque in nature, followed by two energetic disco stompers - those being the aforementioned I Look To You and my personal favourite, the incredible (and ridiculously catchy) Holidays, featuring Alan Palomo in his first of three appearances on this album - before the listener is launched into something a little more quirky with the crisp, yet slightly colder Summersun.
Before I continue talking about Illumination in detail, I feel like a small bit of context is needed for any readers who aren't familiar with this record, in regards to why it seems to sound the way it does. You see, Illumination was released at a time that was extremely inventive and full of freedom for electronic music, and during the late 2000s, electro house, disco, indie and filter house all exploded in popularity, which resulted in a melting pot of adjacent scenes that all seemed to connect with each other. To me, this album sounds like a direct result of what was going on at the time. Disco was becoming massive again, labels like Ed Banger were ruling the world with their inventive take on club music, and there was loads of amazing independent music dropping almost daily, so if you're a huge fan of well, all of that - then be sure to give this record a spin.
Following on from that, the next part of Illumination is where it gets the most glitzy, futuristic and fun overall, headed by the major hit Sometimes, which I feel like Los-Angeles based duo The Midnight could cover expertly, largely due to the similarities in sound. Directly after that, to mark the half-way point of the album, a string of buttery smooth, strange yet genuinely awesome tracks take center stage - including the melancholic Moon Theory, the glowing, post disco jam Echoplex that sounds like something that could have come off of Louis La Roche's latest album The New Now - which was a fixture on the blog during the spring and summer, and the calming, poppy Imagination, that became one of my favourites after a few listens thanks to the incredible production and contrasting tone in comparison to Illumination's animated, excitable openers.
By this point in the record, I was pretty damn sold, and while every track wasn't to my taste, sure - I was still incredibly intrigued just from how wonderful it sounded and how everything felt so squeaky and polished, a trait which only continued as the album's final four tracks rang out - half of them once again featuring Alan Palomo (who I'm incredibly impressed by, I need to check out some stuff from his band Neon Indian!) - those tracks being the shiny, sun-drenched classic Soft Light, which I absolutely adore, by the way, because it's just such an awesome disco workout that could totally do rounds in clubs despite being fairly idiosyncratic in my eyes, and the equally cool Ultraviolet, which serves as a much more indie-rock influenced track, as well as Illumination's closer - the gaps are filled with the short, yet sickly ditties Grand Illusion and Illuminated, which feel largely reminiscent of Kavinsky's work, in my eyes - so if you enjoy his work, you're bound to enjoy these particular jams.
To put this in the best way I can, Illumination is a very, very good record. The highlights are extremely strong, and like I said, although not everything was to my taste - as a whole package, it's an incredibly cohesive debut that works wonders anywhere and everywhere - and it serves as a pretty good time capsule for what electronic music was like at the turn of a new decade. It's disco, it's house, it's pop, it's unmistakably eighties at points - so if that's your thing, and I'd like to assume it is, then sit down, maybe get a book (preferably a graphic novel or maybe a manga volume to fit in with how colourful this record is!) and put it on for fifty minutes. You'll come away feeling quite satisfied, I think!
Rating: 8/10
You can stream and buy 'Illumination' on all major streaming platforms now.
I hope you've enjoyed reading this review, and as always - keep enjoying your stay at the discotheque.
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