Running Back's latest missive happily doffs a cap to synth-pop and "alternative dance" of the 1980s, with boss Gerd Janson suggesting that Ede/Deckert (AKA Eren Yazici and Christph Deckert) looked to British Electric Foundation (AKA Heaven 17) and dark wave outfit Eleven Foundation for inspiration. They're certainly good reference points, with 'Immer' boasting an attractive blend of Johnny Marr style guitar licks, Peter Hook-esque bass, metronomic machine drums and attractive electronic melodies, all topped off with an expressive lead vocal (in German) by mystery singer Sargland. Alongside the fine extended vocal version and vocal/instrumental radio edits, the package also contains a sublime 'Extended Instrumental' take that arguably sounds even more like New Order, which is no bad thing.
Emotional Response's 10th-anniversary celebrations are brought to a superb close with Benedikt Frey. He serves up a magnificently dubbed out and psychedelic cover version of Joy Division's 'She's Lost Control' across four different versions. The vocal version might be the best for us - it retains that compelling dark drum funk you expect from the band with eerie synth additions and hefty bass. The instrumental is more slow and dubbed out in a traditional sense with the Lucas Croon dub doused in endless reverb. Last of all is a dub by Frey himself that is full of open space and bass bin distorting headiness.
Having starred in a previous video for Westmoreland, the actor and all round comedy legend Kevin Eldon guests on this blistering new wave track with a seriously reflective lyrical undertow about how names can shape our destiny, delivering two verses - one as Graham, the second as William. The vibe is sharp and sleek as our man Micko is joined by regular collaborator, Specials bassist Horace Panther, while Holy Holy's Paul Cuddeford plants the cherry on top with a spectacular but very punk rock guitar solo. Fans of socially aware post-punk like XTC, Wire etc will lap it up.