The year is close to the end, but the music world continues to produce so many new albums from perhaps any genre, and from both contemporary and classic artists. Here are newly released albums from three classic and iconic artists that originated from the fertile ’80s Pop music scene.
Modern English – Take Me to the Trees
Doubtlessly, the release of the much-awaited eighth album of the legendary and seminal Post-Punk / New Wave band Modern English is the proper epitome of many music analysts’ favorite description: “A return to original form.” Although the band’s name, Modern English, may have not become a household name, its classic single “I Melt with You,” nonetheless, has become one of the most familiar New Wave / Indie Pop songs for the last 30 years.
Take Me to the Trees is a completion of a stylistic circle, for it certainly docks back onto the raw, rustic, Gothic, sinister, and tubular bass–driven sound of the English band’s debut album, 1981’s Mesh & Lace. After all, the current Modern English features four of its five founding members: Robbie Grey (vocals), Gary McDowell (guitars), Mick Conroy (bass), and Stephen Walker (keyboards). Recommended songs include “Trees,” “Moonbeam,” “Sweet Revenge,” “Come Out of Your Hole,” and “Flood of Light.”
Rick Astley – 50
Catapulted to popularity in the ’80s Pop music scene in 1987 via his solid debut effort, the English singer Rick Astley has become a music icon in his own right. He was able to churn out a string of successful singles culled especially from his ’80s-released albums: “Never Gonna Give You Up,” “Whenever You Need Somebody,” “Together Forever,” “It Would Take a Strong Man,” “She Wants to Dance with Me,” “Take Me to Your Heart,” and “Hold Me in Your Arms.” To date, Astley has seven studio albums to his credit, from 1987’s Whenever You Need Somebody to the latest, seventh offering.
Titled 50, Astley’s new album is a collection of fine ballads (“Angels on My Side,” “Wish Away,” “Let It Be Tonight”), upbeat dance-floor stompers (“God Says,” “I Like the Sun,” “Pray with Me”), and a few Lounge Pop head swayers (“This Old House” and “Pieces”).
Roxette – Good Karma
The 30 years’ spanning career of the Swedish duo Roxette has produced 10 studio albums, from the humble beginnings of 1986’s Pearls of Passion to 2016’s relatively return-to-form sound of Good Karma. The commercial glory of Roxette shone the brightest in the late ’80s on through the early ’90s, when their second and third albums were released, spawning hit singles such as the Heart-inspired balladry of “Listen to Your Heart” and “Dangerous” and the upbeat, slick, sunny Pop of “The Look,” “Joyride,” and “How Do You Do?” as well as the highly successful non-album single “It Must Have Been Love.”
Roxette’s latest offering combines both the classic and the modern aspects of the duo’s music, blending nostalgia and anticipation—the perfect album to celebrate Roxette’s 30th anniversary in the music industry. So, kudos to Roxette’s Marie Fredriksson (lead vocalist) and Per Gessle (vocalist/guitarist) for a worthy new album and for their musical partnership’s anniversary. Recommended songs include “This One,” “Some Other Summer,” and “April Clouds.”
Final Note
Those are just additional three new albums released this year. If you’re really a music enthusiasts, then you should not be complaining that there’s no more good music to be had nowadays—because there’s so much new great music out there—in fact, from any given place or decade. All one needs, really, is the initiative to look for the kind of music one loves. And one will certainly always find so much.
