After a six-year hiatus, synth-pop duo Sin Cos Tan followed last year’s EP with a triumphant fourth album titled “Living in Fear”.
Typically, their music harks back to the 1980s, an era when topics of love and passion intermingled with genuine angst for such concerns as nuclear war, a frame of mind that feels chillingly poignant now.
If dance music is largely about consistency and utility, pop is rather a quest for the perfect encapsulation of emotion in a piece. Highly prolific electronic music artist and producer, Jori Hulkkonen has traversed both paths steadily, and this record may be his crowning achievement.
Like every great DJ, he is a music aficionado with a wide taste and deep crates, here showing his chops also in the supplementary remixes for the outstanding singles. “More Than I Can Love” is a brilliant dance number, while “Killing Dreams” smoulders like a James Bond theme devised by Depeche Mode.
Of course, the creation would not be complete without co-writer and lyricist Juho Paalosmaa, whose emotive vocals make for a perfect pairing and deserve as much credit.
Stream “Living in Fear” LP on Spotify.