Tomorrow Syndicate - Citizen Input

The throbbing, pulsating sequences and oscillating synths of 'Precog' launches Citizen Input, the follow-up to last years Future Tense from retro-futurists Tomorrow Syndicate. Space is the place this Glasgow based outfit are setting their controls for and it doesn't take long for their influences and inspirations to become apparent in what is a confident and compact set of songs, released by the highly collectable Polytechnic Youth label.

Wavering analogue patterns couch the indie space rock of the wonderful 'Stranger in Space (Part I and II)'. "I am drifting a million miles away" the laconic vocals breathe, as synths chime and chatter over glittering guitar tones, bass and lean rhythms. Hurtling onwards midway it transforms into kosmische grooves driven by motorik rhythms as synths step up into overdrive. Propulsive and expansive it surges higher with a myriad of samples, spacey synths as guitar riffing casts off shoegazey vapour trails. This is Tomorrow Syndicate at their most expansive on this mini-album and it is an amalgamation of sound encapsulating what drives Tomorrow Syndicate: a modern psych-space age sound, tapping into the motorik rhythm of Neu!, with waves of floating guitars like Spiritualized, topped off with airy, soothing vocals with a keen ear for melody. This isn't a homage though, for all its comparisons, Tomorrow Syndicate make the sound all their own.

Following the instrumental filmic cosmic cut of 'Contact' comes the gleaming almost indie electro-pop of 'Captain, I am Fading', where chiming synths, electro sequences and glistening guitar chords are propelled by post-punk basslines. A Wire like presence, circa A Bell Is A Cup... Until It Is Struck, can be found in its delivery, especially in the melodic laidback Colin Newman-esque vocals, guitar shimmer and the taut minimalist backbeat. Wire were never this cosmic in their electronics though. All done in less than 4-minutes, it's an infectious slice of outsider pop. 'Auto-Pilot' continues in a similar stratosphere, layering sequences and melodious synth shapes over booming bass. The vocals are gentle here, almost ethereal, sprinkled with lush guitar notes before the synth-pop freakout jettisons them back into space again. The joyous 23-minute journey of Citizen Input finishes with the circling psych synth patterns of 'Exit Guide' fizzing and buzzing to the end, accompanied by space rock synth stabs in another instrumental cut.

Captured so succinctly, Citizen Input is an appealing collection of dreamy pop melodies and effortlessly cool sci-fi electronica, adding a futuristic edge to electronic music's past. It's, uh, stellar stuff and if it's anything like their debut album, Future Tense, copies will be snapped up quickly and rightly so. Citizen Input is available digitally and on 10-inch vinyl in a beautifully designed sleeve in an edition of 500 copies. Citizen Input is available digitally on Bandcamp but you'll need to try Discogs, Monorail, Norman Records or others for a vinyl copy.