Release date: 2nd June 2008
Label: Knave Records
Rating:

Before now probably the only music artist to have taken inspiration from a TV testcard was Jimi Hendrix ('The Wind Cried Mary' was apparently written after he was left watching BBC after the switch-off following an argument with his then girlfriend.) In these days of digital television, of course, the testcard may well be a thing of the past.

Whilst documenting modernity, Liverpudlian trio Testcard look somewhat to the past, not least in their choice of moniker. However theirs is a more recent past than that of Hendrix, although the tale of a man alone in a flat with nothing but the television for company is one that would feel familiar to anyone who listens to their music. They harness 1980s Italo-disco to lyrics that recall artists such as Soft Cell -lyrics such as "Is this the kind of kick you're looking for / Where you tie me to the chair and I beg for more" could come straight out of one of Marc Almond's bed-sit vignettes. Added to the mix are elements of power-pop and future disco, which complement the coolly observed tales of urban life.

There seems something of a contradiction at the heart of the record. On the one hand the music feels machine-like (the album title 'Lines' gives a good feel for the album, it does feel like music moving in lines, constructed, machined). However lyrically and vocally there is something more soulful going on, echoing perhaps those other '80s stalwarts the Pet Shop Boys. Whereas Tennant and Lowe always made a commodity of the immediacy of their pop hooks however, Testcard make you work a little harder. Whilst they both harness strong narrative song-writing to dance music, the musical template for Testcard is a little more left-field.

If you persevere you will find much to enjoy in the record. Not least the intelligence with which it is put together. Lyrics such as "Your note is lying in the space where you once were / My answerphone is full now, I'm paralysed and hurt" reveal a clever ability to extract emotion from minutiae.

Simply put, this is a finely crafted pop record. There is a contradiction between the machined feel of the music and the emotion of the lyrics, but this feels right. We live our lives in lines, but there is always a soul to be found if you look hard enough.

Stuart Crosse