Metamatic Forums John Foxx John Foxx And The Maths The Shape Of Things

Any news on the live DVD Rob??

Hi there Gary,

No, I'm afraid not is the short answer. I do know that it's still being worked on - there was a lot of footage to edit, and then there's the audio to mix. But everyone's been a little 'distracted' with writing new material. Who'd have thought that a follow-up to Interplay would've come so quickly.

I'll post more news about the Roundhouse CD/DVD just as soon as I can.

Rob

Here's a summary of thirteen reviews of the new album in various music press:

John Foxx And The Maths - The Shape Of Things

Mojo
'From exultant motorik to giddy Depeche Mode-like synth pop to the macabre 'Talk', The Shape of Things is consistently absorbing, as good as any of Foxx's early-80s benchmarks.' 4/5

BBC.co.uk
'He has never seemed so relevant, nor sounded so modern, as he does in 2012. The Shape Of Things is, by some margin, Foxx's best album since Metamatic.'

Artrocker
'This is a record of utopias and dystopias, perfect synth pop. It's also an entirely human record though: the common theme that emerges is one of corrupted memories: failed relationships are visualised as futures that never came, while even the most robotic of tunes feature traces of blue skies and ocean.'5/5

DMC World
'With such an intense creative zeal at the moment, John Foxx is continuing from strength to strength.' 5/5

Vice Magazine
'By the power of JG Ballard’s Roland Juno standing under an autobahn flyover in Berlin in 1973 in the cold war rain wearing a fedora – it’s a new John Foxx album! Having gone through 360 degree electro rehabilitation recently (with the help of East London analogue synth archivist Ben ‘Benge’ Edwards) Foxx has not only rescued himself from being a footnote of 80s night nostalgia but has re-established himself as a synth pop artist of note and proto hauntologist. More introspective but no less gripping than last year’s great Interplay.' 8/10

FACT Magazine
'The Shape Of Things is rooted in the classic electronic pop tradition but sounds thrillingly contemporary.'

Uncut
'A retro-futurist show of bubbling electronics and dolorous laments.' 7/10

[Record Collector
'There's an aroma of Bowie's seminal Low here, especially on 'Unrecognised' which comes fuelled by techno bubbles, striking synth lines and amournful vocal invoking loss. Another great LP from Foxx.' 4/5

The Arts Desk
'This is an album packed with proper tunes as well as atmosphere. Foxx's vocals might sound as detached as ever, but he also demonstrates an ear for an infectious melody on 'Tides' and the elegant 'Vapour Trails', which catch him slotting neatly into a gap between Gary Numan and David Sylvian. Electronic music, currently enjoying another resurgence, owes him a considerable debt but it also feels eerily like an album very much about the now rather than an album about the past.' 3/5

DIY
'Over 30 years since his first excursions in the field, John Foxx is still at the very top of his game; his collaboration with Benge and The Maths has crystallised all that experience and craft into some particularly special pop music.' 8/10

Classic Rock
'The electronic pioneer shows how it's done. Foxx's talent for melody and lyrics hasn't left him, and songs like the almost folky 'September Town'and the stuttering waltz 'The Shadow Of His Former Self' are in a direct line from 'Europe After The Rain' and 'The Quiet Men.' Anyone tempted byrecent electronic music and who wants to see it done by one of its originators would be well advised to nip by here.' 7/10

Musicomh.com
'Foxx is a man whose creative touch paper has been well and truly lit in the last two years. The Shape Of Things is an incredibly assured piece of work,machine-like in its execution but revealing a soulful, tender exterior that we do not often seen from the former Ultravox man. It suits him well - and on this evidence further rewards will soon follow.' 4/5

Hi-Fi Choice
'The Shape Of Things is full of emotion, intensity and avant-garde twists.' 8/10

Great stuff Martin, many thanks. Still haven't set any time aside for it yet - maybe this weekend ...

Thanks for replying Rob.

I'm sure it will be worth the wait, are there any plans for an indepth interview with John about his career being included with the DVD??

By the way Rob give John a kick up the backside, he should be working on a new Maths album, he has set high standards for releasing material!!! :<))

Johnny Mugwump (Weird tales for Winter / Exotic Pylon) etc raves about The Shape Of Things in the latest FACT Magazine:

http://www.factmag.com/2012/03/31/john-foxx-the-maths-the-shape-of-things/

...an album that says more about the downright f*cking weirdness of city existence than any dancefloor, chillwave or hypnagogic artist you might care to name. An absolute triumph.

Just got this album and got excited when I heard "Rear-View Mirror." It reminds of DAF (YouTube links): Als Wär's das Letzte Mal or Alle Gegen Alle. (And everyone knows that DAF is the greatest electronic band ever.)

But it turns out it's pretty varied. I'm about halfway through now. I will post later this weekend once I've had time to digest it.

Well, I'm not quite sure what to make of TSOT. Benge's minimal synth work sounds great as usual. However, John's moody, down tempo approach on most songs doesn't really grab me. I haven't listened that closely but I am getting grainy images of a ghostlike Quiet Man wandering the streets observing people but unable to connect to anyone. A lot of the vocals tend to be slow, melancholic dirges. It is certainly a solid work but one that doesn't engage me all that much. It will probably grow on me over time.

I think I said elsewhere too - it is a grower and does take a litle while. And after the dazzle of Interplay, it seemed very hard for The Shape of Things to follow. But it does, and well - it just takes time.

From Talk, followed by the radiophonics of Psytron and the dark moody atmosphere of Unrecognised - those sections are for me where it really starts to blossom.

I love the whole thing, but its definitely a grower and some 'chapters' may work better for you than others

For me, its the middle third, opening with Modreno and closing with Buddwing. Especially Modreno followed by Falling Away is an inspirational pairing