Album Review: Miami Horror - All Possible Futures

It’s been over ten years since James Murphy neatly summed up the superficial nature of electronic production on Losing My Edge. “I hear that you and your band have sold your turntables and bought guitars,” he deadpanned. Miami Horror have followed in many of their predecessors’ footsteps in this respect, as the Melbourne band recorded with more live instrumentation and moved to the Californian beaches in search of a new sound.

The group have stayed busy in the five years since their debut album, Illumination. At least three members formed side projects, and there’s an additional host of guests this time around. Most notably, Cleopold features on the nimble single, Love Like Mine, and the expansive Colours In The Sky. He’s a great fit for the band, reminiscent of the collaborations between French producer Breakbot and singer Irfane. Los Angeles singer Gavin Turek adds a further sense of sunshine to these songs with her bright harmonies.

There are 12 tracks and three interludes on All Possible Futures and yet it still seems that there’s territory left unexplored. While it was wise to escape the trappings of the Australian sound by moving overseas and adding more analogue instruments to give a sense of life to their music, the dreamy feeling of the US West Coast permeates the record to an extent that makes it more impressionistic than impressive. It’s hard to criticise the album for what it sets out to be, which, at the end of the day is a lounging and blissful set of songs.