Having worked with everyone from
Ladyhawke to Lost Valentinos, Sydney duo Nick Littlemore and Peter Mayes, aka
Pnau, have built up a reputation as the darlings of the Australian indie-disco scene. However, their fourth studio album, Soft Universe, suggests the pair have ditched the indie and gone straight for the disco jugular on an unashamedly glossy affair which recalls the shiny, retro synth pop of their previous work under the guise of
Empire of the Sun. Indeed, the follow-up to 2007's self-titled effort may have been inspired by front-man Littlemore's then-recent breakup with his girlfriend, but there's little sense of self-pity or melancholy on its ten tracks, which are packed with soaring hands in the air choruses, pulsing club beats, and shimmering euphoric synths. While the melodic AOR of the '70s dominated their previous side project, here it's the dramatic electronica of the '80s which reigns supreme, whether it's the moody, early,
Depeche Mode-esque "Unite Us," the atmospheric power balladry of "Glimpse," or the bittersweet new wave of "Solid Ground," while Littlemore's pompous tones sound more like
Simon Le Bon's the longer the record goes on. It's a convincing tribute act, but save for the inspired and subversively titled "Epic Fail," which brings whistling back into fashion on an irresistible slice of novelty pop, and the completely left-field inclusion of closer "Waiting for You," a
Bacharach-inspired deadpan lounge-pop number which appears to have wandered in from another record entirely, there's little sign of the quirkiness that made them such an intriguing prospect. The lolloping nu-synth of "Something Special" is anything but, "Everybody" is generic trance-pop at best, and "The Truth" sounds like a left-over from
Take That's recent brush with electro. Their bid for the mainstream appears to have worked (its number 13 chart entry is the highest of their career), but Soft Universe is at its most enjoyable when it's at its most offbeat. ~ Jon O'Brien