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One man band Alan Wilkis has been on my A-list for quite some time now. Pop may well be eating itself, but there’s no harm in having a dance along the way right?
I picked up latest EP ‘Pink And Purple‘ for its attractive and exciting cover art, but what was behind it was an impressionable beast waiting to be uncovered. At 6 tracks strong, the EP works in a way that makes it self contained, but there are so many varying styles and sounds covered here.
Straight out of Brooklyn, Alan Wilkis is an extremely talented multi-instrumentalist. From the funky guitar lines to the high-pitch vocal hook-lines, it’s all here. Often compared to acts like Chromeo and Jamie Lidell, Wilkis’ inspiration is drawn purely from the golden age of pop with acts like 
Prince, Rick James, The Pointer Sisters (if you’re listening Alan, I’ll be your best friend if you performed a cover of ‘Automatic’), Madonna and Phil Collins making up his repertoire of sound.
Each track has so many various different styles and covers a lot of ground. Opening with ‘Snuggle Up To Nail Down’ is a cheesy pop-fest including a clever chorus and some sexface pulling guitar riffs. If this track doesn’t hook you I’m not sure what will. ‘N.I.C.E’ is like the Sesame Street tribute to Electro Funk with its sing along spelling lessons, Sega Mega Drive nostalgia and tongue-in-cheek irony-laced lyrics, a perfect juxtaposition to the opener. Third track ‘Gotta Get You Back’ oddly enough really reminds me of the Scissor Sisters vocalist Jake Shears, and I swear Wilkis is playing a Gameboy somewhere in here. Title track ‘Pink And Purple’ is the perfect late-night driving track with some of the best synth solos I’ve heard in years. The EP finishes off with ‘Time Machine’, a fantastic voyage into emotionally driven pop-rock, this really reminds me of the amazing Tangerine Dream soundtrack to the Ridley Scott film ‘Legend’, switching into something quite Pink Floyd like when that guitar kicks in – scrumptious!
With vintage synths, an 808, vocoders and many a handclap, ‘Pink and Purple‘ is a wonderful homage to the history of pop, and music itself. Buy. This. Now.
MP3 Download: Alan Wilkis – Pink And Purple
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Alan Wilkis’ second release ‘Pink And Purple’ is out now. You can pick it up on CD from BigCartel or digitally via iTunes. Rumours are escalating about a colab. release between Wilkis and fellow Brookly-based act Project Jenny, Project Jan is on the cards. We’ll keep you updated.
One Response to “Slice Just Wanna Be Nice To You”
[...] Slice – “From the funky guitar lines to the high-pitch vocal hook-lines, it’s all here… ‘Pink And Purple’ is the perfect late-night driving track with some of the best synth solos I’ve heard in years… A wonderful homage to the history of pop, and music itself. Buy. This. Now.” [...]
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