"I feel like lately I've been missing in action,"
LoneLady's
Julie Campbell sings on
Former Things, and while it's true that she's not the most prolific artist, when she returns every half-decade or so, it's with something meaningful and beautifully crafted. Time is on her mind on her third album, and though six years lie between it and her previous full-length
Hinterland,
Former Things is so immediately gripping that it feels like the blink of an eye. "The Catcher" begins the album by proving that her dance-punk is as spine-tinglingly taut as it was when she introduced it on 2010's
Nerve Up. This is the first album she created outside of her beloved Manchester, which loomed large on both
Hinterland and her debut. Instead,
Campbell accepted a residency at London's Somerset House Rifle Range, a renovated 18th century shooting range that afforded her the ability to create in private and enjoy one of the world's biggest and busiest cities. Though she didn't completely change her habits -- she recorded the album entirely by herself -- the change of scenery brings new colors and moods to her music's foundations. Immersing herself completely in the electronics that crept into her sound on
Hinterland,
Campbell nods to
Cybotron and
Neneh Cherry with crisp textures and restless beats that capture a bustling city (or dancefloor) with the same vividness her previous albums evoked desolate urban ruins. The tension between past and present, and inner and outer selves, makes
Former Things riveting listening, particularly on the paranoid electro-funk of "Threats," on which
Campbell's sense of identity dissolves into confetti over an ominously snaking synth bass. She's always questioned and challenged herself on each album, but it's rarely sounded as pleasurable as it does on
Former Things. She balances her introspection with plenty of hooks, whether it's the glockenspiel and synth strings that sweeten her musings on the passing of time on the title track or the zaps, beeps, and vocoders that shadow her as she stares down her worries on "Fear Colours." Both economical and richly evocative,
Former Things is as brilliant and sharp as a diamond -- and it's the first
LoneLady album that could honestly be described as fun. ~ Heather Phares