After a number of sumptuous 12″ singles for the Visionquest label, Footprintz (Clarian North & Adam Hunter) have readied a full length LP co-produced by Ewan Pearson. The album, “Escape Yourself” is, in their words, “an album that kids can listen and escape to.”
Composed of lush harmonies, glossy melodies and chuggy basslines, the album is a deliciously constructed invitation to the dance floor.
Although clearly a dance record, each track is a tiny epic full of dramatic synth washes and thumping drums that recall Big 80s groups like Tears for Fears, Soft Cell and, at times, Limahl’s Giorgio Moroder-produced theme to The Neverending Story…but with a modern romantic Cut Copy-ish twist.
“Zanzibar,” “Uncertain Change,” and “Utopia” capture the optimism, awe and confusion of being 17 and imagining a space for oneself in the world while seeking solace beneath the dance floor lights at 2am.
It’s an excellent debut and does precisely what Footprintz set out to do; create a great escape.