Album of the week: Retromachine Betty by SPECTRA*paris

I have been meaning to listen to the latest album by SPECTRA*paris for some time now but just kept forgetting about it until today. If anyone is like me and is a big fan of the cult Italian band Kirlian Camera, you would know that SPECTRA*paris is Elena Alice Fossi's other project. What started out as an all female band is now just a solo project for Elena although she does collaborate with Kirlian Camera member Angelo Bergamini (as the robotic Hal Bergmann) and producer John Fryer. Retromachine Betty is a far cry from the more serious, darker sounds of Kirlian Camera. The music on this album evokes the lighter synthpop sounds of Visage, Erasure. and Giorgio Moroder. I wish I knew about this album sooner , I certainly would have included it on my best of 2017 list. I love the upbeat, lighthearted tone of the album as well as the science fiction theme. It is quite a contrast to the more somber, serious tone of Elena's work with Kirlian Camera. Not a big fan of The Kinks' "You Really Got Me" but I have to hand it to Elena to make a song I am not exactly fond of, sound more palatable and enjoyable to listen to with her breathy, seductive vocals backed up with synthesizers. I just started listening to this album today but I have already listened to Retromachine Betty three times which says a lot about how good it is (at least to me).