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The Office for Personal Development, resplendent in their company attire of double-breasted grey suits and green ties, have unleashed their foray into propaganda. Their debut album ‘Doing. Is. Thinking.’ is out now and captures the (mock) government department findings of the past eighteen months from their Bexhill offices.
*image credit John Cheves
During budget week, the treasury and the Chancellor offered little to no hope for public services, the working class, and the standard of life of improvement. Step forward, motivational guru Trevor Deeble. Famed for his time in Indigo Moss and the double act with Hannah-Lou, he created the finest ministerial department since DoSac lost its immigration file USB stick.
‘Born to Be’ takes gentler aspects of Alannah Myles and Pat Benatar's melodic prowess to the fun and quirks of Lemon Jelly, especially Fred Deakin’s recent solo album ‘Fred Deakin Presents The Lasters’. ‘Do It All Over Again’ leans into Deakin’s sonic furthermore, which climaxes in a joyous Kraftwerk ‘Computer Love’ era synth solo from their Head of IT Del Querns. Lyrically, this is where the former single comes alive. The protagonist, a messianic narcissist, details the monstrous thoughts darting around their deluded mind as they carry out the big shop. Both tracks sow the seeds of reintegrating fun back into an electronic scene that has been saturated by Boiler Room posers for far too long.
‘You Are In Control’ and ‘Take Me Back’ continue on this path, with Director Deeble leaning into his Neil Tennant-esque vocal. The former allowed him to glide from angelic to wry, accentuating his auteur overlord presence in the office. The sci-fi sonic is fraught with anxiety via the poptastic keys, the spirit of Hot Chip, and early 90s rave breakdowns but is never without a sense of hope. ‘Take Me Back’, Originally recorded ten years ago when Moss was a fine art student at Goldsmiths University, has a protracted landing to earth but unfurls a pop masterpiece. The heart of ‘A Bath Full of Ecstasy’ infiltrates the melodic magnificence of Wilson Phillips with the elegance of Goldfrapp strutting to the dancefloor.
A day of motivational speaking and team bonding is as promising as having a rusty spoon fish out your kidney stones. Until now! The OPD have business cliché into credible electronic hooks and substantive pop music. Late-night Magic FM has collided with 6Music to produce an underdog record-of-the-year contender.