Jan Linton has managed to keep busy this year, with new singles manifesting even when I was too busy to take notice in the Spring. How did I miss his YMO cover and remix of “Behind The Mask” recorded in tribute to both Takahashi and Sakamoto? [memo to self: purchase those bad boys tonight – I see commenter schwenko hasn’t rested on his laurels] In my defense, I can only say that my life has gotten busier with age.

He’s working with fellow Art Rocker Leo Abrahams who contributed reversed and sustain guitar. Imagine a single where Jan Linton alone could not provide enough guitar sustain, so Abrahams was called in for support! And then stop what you are doing and chastise yourself, because this song is the furthest thing from ambient noodling which constitutes the normal environment for such antics.

Following a few backwards flutters of Leo’s guitar, the driving synth beat kicked in with Kraftwerkian rhythm programming making a surprising dash for a [beloved] Front 242 vibe of the kind that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up on first listen. Then the pneumatic synth hisses and swells of string patches gave us promise of a glorious song to come. A notion then underlined and stamped in triplicate when the [sampled, I’m guessing] clarinet drove a melodic hook home in the least likely way possible.

Three cheers for Linton putting banks of synths and clarinet together for the first time since Soft Cell. Then he entered the song singing with a suave yet lovestruck delivery that formed excellent contrast to the driving and euphoric music bed. Occasionally doubling on his vocals with plenty of, yes, strange effects on them courtesy of AutoTune technician Addy Tsoi. Who is the first such person I’ve ever seen actually credited for AutoTune work on a music release!

The middle eight shifted to a minor key as the vocal effects went into overdrive one Linton’s repetitions of the chorus as the bridge scaled the octaves upward and onward to the song’s climax where Linton’s voice was sculpted into a singularity by Tsoi; the song’s relentless hard beats coupled with the ecstatic melody and arrangement attaining an unlikely balance in contrasts. The song finally evaporating into heart like beats and drones in the song’s coda. Give it a listen below.

As usual, the song is available in your choice for lossy to lossless formats for a pittance. We’ve enjoyed the steady stream of new and archival releases from Linton since discovering him some years back when he issued the “I Actually Come Back” album [also with Abrahams contributing], but as much as I like a great single, I’m more of an album guy. So I am still awaiting the advance word of another album statement from the dazzling Mr. Linton.

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