NZCA/Lines – NZCA/Lines

There’s something about naming oneself after an ancient geographical phenomenon which seems, well, a bit hippy. It implies oneness with the world, empathising with the mind of an eagle flying over ley-lines in search of joss sticks and bells: images conjured by the likes of Pyramids’ experimental post-rock, Avalon’s ethereal folk and Babylon’s plodding prog. Michael Lovett’s new group NZCA/Lines, however, are more aligned with the space-age futurism of Martian canals than the hessian tie-dye of his namesake’s Peruvian desert patterns.

Nonetheless, NZCA/Lines’ debut embodies the root of humanist earthiness, tapping into the source of the most ancient of mankind’s mysticism – the soul. For NZCA/Lines is a true soul record, brought up to date with precision R’n’B beats and slick electronica. If Marvin Gaye’s voice was used for HAL, this is the soundtrack apes would rise to.

Despite its crisp production the album feels organic as opening track ‘Compass Points’ germinates, carefully photosynthesising until it blossoms into a multi-layered delight of Darwinian enlightenment. Guided by Lovett’s exceptional craftsmanship, it evolves from a basic beat under a spinning synth, slowing growing with falsetto vocals before a grinding electro dances with ethereal melodies, as delicate as an orchid and just as beautiful.

Lovett has kept the simplicity found in his excellent previous band, Your Twenties, and has osmosed the Metronomy connections, yet added sequenced dimensions which Joseph Mount’s group lacks. His admiration of Timbaland and overt love of Aaliyah are apparent in the presence of their ‘Try Again’, whose electro R’n’B is being sprinkled throughout. ‘Okinawa Channels’ uses this temple to create a haunting bass, with competing synths stuttering around Hot Chip rhythms. It’s simplicity housing grand intricacies which sweep across the speakers as though Kraftwerk were playing through a house party PA system,

NZCA/Lines’ juxtaposition of the simple and grand is further exemplified on ‘Atoms and Axes’, a song which looks toward the building block of matter while sounding like Airwolf coursing through the wide open sky, taking in the vastness of space. Its retro ’80s theme-tune synths are reimagined as cutting-edge sequences which scream 2012 like nothing else (yet still sound timeless). By soldering the old and new, and the large and small, Lovett has seemingly combined Einsteinian and quantum theories to create a perfect sound, encompassing conflicting ideas in aural existentialism.

Whereas electro genius Gold Panda works a banging dance floor to bring a crowd together, NZCA/Lines’ genius is in a more intimate seduction, utilising traditional songwriting as a fervid aphrodisiac. This gritty sexuality climaxes with ‘Base64 Love’ which throbs with Sade’s sensuality and Barry White’s passion, It’s bedroom music for people who know the difference between CSS and HTML: the soundtrack to a hipster girl and scenester boy touching fingers over a PowerMac, with Lovett caressing Prince as he thrusts “If you’re around tonight, I’m formatting my hard drive into FA80-32, and baby we could maybe play with the cables”. Geek sex never sounded so tempting.

The album’s highlight is ‘Moonlit Car Chase’, a disturbing love soul-ballad which is Scritti Politti singing Sade watched by Orwelian cowbells, which occasionally breaks into a driving Duran Duran beat. Its cleansed ’80s minimalism is sinisterly reminiscent of the film American Psycho, with its slick precision and schizophrenic shadows. The song’s qualities place Lovett as a great songwriter, musician and visionary, it’s that good.

What makes NZCA/Lines so special is the way that it sounds comfortingly familiar as if ingrained in our DNA, while still oozing the excitement of the undiscovered. Lovett has produced an album which relies on timeless songwriting and taps into the essence of soulful pop, shamelessly repackaging what works into a truly invigorating display of craftsmanship. NZCA/Lines reinvents traditional pop for a contemporary audience, resulting in a modern classic.