Album Review: Wil Lyons Raven Haired Angel

A multi-instrumentalist and keen ‘80s synth-pop enthusiast, Wil Lyons has released a couple of well-received singles to date. His debut album aims to combine the sum of those influences with his own take on the genre. That said, ‘Smile’, the opening track, is more sunshine LA pop in the Christopher Cross mode than anything that might have bothered the UK charts during the 1980s. However, both ‘Is This Love’ and ‘I Feel Like You’ certainly embrace that classic ‘80s electro-pop chart sound, complete with danceable syncopated rhythms, tricky keyboard sequences and memorable melodies and choruses.
‘Say You’ll Be Mine’ combines an organic piano with synth textures and a deep R&B rhythm, with a nod to Serge Gainsbourg (‘Je T’Aime’) in the sultry French spoken-word interlude. Meanwhile, ‘I Want To Be Me’ veers more towards the Hi NRG sound that was (briefly) all the rage during part of the ‘80s; and ‘Shut Up And Dance’ is not so much a dancefloor filler, as a late-night, mid-tempo disco tune that recalls classics like Imagination’s ‘Body Talk’ and ‘Just An Illusion’.
Not every song here fits the template: the piano-based elegy, ‘Song For Gerry’, is a heartfelt tribute to a departed loved one, while ‘Song C’ may or may not be a Eurovision-minded tune, but it’s the kind of pop ballad that once might have graced the song contest that taste forgot. More Kraftwerk than the Human League, ‘Utopian Dreamer’ is one of the more complex creations here and might have worked as a Miami Vice-style cop show theme back then. All told an impressive first stab.
_Out Now

Rating: 6/10
Key track: 'Is This Love'