Raise the Stakes

by Stewart Mason Any fan of the great synth pop outfits of the '80s -- the Human League, Heaven 17, Blancmange, Yaz, Book of Love, that lot -- will latch on to Trademark's Raise the Stakes like a digital life preserver. Purely electronic and purely pop, with its dancefloor beats tempered by the use of sweeping string sections, ultra-melodic tunes, and Oliver Horton's boyish and appealingly plain, non-diva vocals. This is synth pop for the long-trenchcoat student brigade, to put it into the stereotypes of the era for which Trademark has its greatest affection, then. Yet Raise the Stakes lacks the one-dimensional coldness of many synth records due to the trio's savvy melodic skills: all 12 songs on this album have compelling tunes and catchy choruses courtesy of Horton's two synth-wielding partners, Stuart Meads and Paul Soulsby. Songs like "Come to Love" and "Where You Went Wrong" would have been absolutely huge in 1984; retro-minded hipster kidz and those who were there for the first wave of synth pop will agree that Raise the Stakes is one of the finest releases in the style since the guy from A Flock of Seagulls went bald.