Having made the leap to solo work with 2017's delightfully eclectic
Excellent Musician, former
Let's Wrestle frontman
Wesley Gonzalez works himself into a smart-pop frenzy on his synth-heavy follow-up,
Appalling Human. That the Londoner's first two albums are titled
Excellent Musician and
Appalling Human should say something about his sense of humor, but his intelligence and emotive range extend well beyond mere irony. On his first outing,
Gonzalez more or less abandoned the guitar, which had been his primary tool since starting
Let's Wrestle at the age of 15. Writing instead for the piano, his approach shifted more distinctly toward a mix of '70s-inspired singer/songwriter pop and a nimble mixture of new wave and power pop with synths and saxophones decorating the arrangements. On
Appalling Human, he takes his keyboard obsession a step further, lighting up the 12 tracks with a barrage of glimmering synths and drum machines that are sometimes jarring in their sizzling glare. Armed with a band that includes indie pop songstress
Rose Elinor Dougall on backing vocals,
Joe Chilton on bass,
Callum Duffy on keyboards, and
Bobby Voltaire on drums,
Gonzalez weaves his snaky melodies around glitzy dancefloor bangers like "Tried to Tell Me Something" and "If I'm Sad," evoking the early-'80s synth pop heyday but sounding like a melodic descendant of
Andy Partridge. Further echoes of
XTC's influence come out on cuts like "Girl, You're My Family Now" and "Used to Love You," and his bold vocal delivery is vaguely reminiscent of
Partridge's. The LP's tone feels deliberately grandiose and it doesn't always land, but there are plenty of highlights to be found like the excellent "Change" and "Friend at First," which reveal what a sharp songwriter
Gonzalez is.