Single flashback

Strange Advance - Love Becomes Electric [1988]

Vancouver’s Strange Advance were nothing if not fresh and interesting.

Originally a synth-forward, new wave act that first hit in ‘83 with Worlds Away, they went a little more conceptual, a little prog with 1985 release 2WO. These projects were always on the leading edge of technology and used sci-fi themes liberally in their lyrics.

Both albums sold to gold status here in Canada, and I wrote a piece about 2WO last year:

Third album The Distance Between sees the 90s approaching and tastes changing. Main songwriter Drew Arnott clocks this, but does not want to alter the duo’s sound dramatically. He and partner Darryl Kromm stick to what’s worked for them in past studio sessions - technology and session players of the highest order. Among the guitar players recruited were CanCon icon Randy Bachman and Allan Holdsworth [Soft Machine].

The result? The band’s biggest-ever hit.

Love Becomes Electric, peaked #20 in ‘88

Musically, you will notice straight away that the lads are playing guitar in the video, which certainly took me by surprise at the time. There are synth parts, of course, and a catchy drum pattern. Very curious is the middle section which takes on a different theme altogether, a dance floor break in the middle of a pop song.

The lyrics are your usual boy meets girl, but with Arnott still spinning sci-fi language into the mix such as “your solar flesh”. The song also lends itself well to a remix, as evidenced my the back cover.

While I don’t have an obvious B-side to share, how about a second single that didn’t chart?

Till The Stars Fall - did not chart

This one feel a little more ‘on brand’ to me, recognizable as Strange Advance right off the hop. To me, this is not a natural choice to open the album, but what do I know...?

Ultimately, Arnott was correct - the desire for his type of music was on the wane, and the band went on a long hiatus.

Happily, he and Kromm had left behind a ton of material recorded after The Distance Between that was repurposed in the studio for an archival release named 4.

So after more than 30 years, we didn’t exactly have new music, but rather what Arnott thinks the fourth album would have sounded like had they continued on. It’s excellent, you should give it a spin!