Album review: Futile - Night
Label: Vårø Records
Cover design: Magnus Nylander
Release date: April 8th 2016
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Futile consists of four young Swedes who met in Sweden’s cultural hotspot Gothenburg. It’s a bit tricky to categorise them, and indeed they themselves refuse to do so. Perhaps that’s wise and eventually not that important once you get into their music. What is however important is that Futile seems to create an enchanting temporal space with their debut album Night, combining elements of new and old. That goes to say their sound is retrospective and prospective at the same instant. I’ll try to expand on that briefly. The band mentions in their brief bio that their music should make you feel like you’re “back in the Hacienda days”’. Unfortunately I don’t know what this is supposed to refer to, however there are certain nostalgic undertones in their sound. Their overall synthesized soundscape and slightly muffled, “soft” beats reminds me of the 1980’s britpop, or new romanticism. The 1980’s synthetic textures have definitely made a comeback in popular culture during recent years (see how Taylor Swift’s “New Romantics” sounds for example).
Thanks to the use of conventional pop-rock instrumentation, Futile has managed to produce a beautiful, warm and lush synth-pop sound. Perhaps indeed the multi temporal dimensions are especially evident in Night due to the beautiful compromise between synth-pop soundscape, indie-rock mentality and disco’s euphoria - as all mentioned influences seem to bear markings of different eras. As I said, it’s tricky to categorise Futile’s Night, but whatever it is, it’s danceable, optimistic and relentlessly catchy. Night is a super laid back record - patient yet euphoric.
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