Now a solo project in the capable hands of founder member Hannes Norrvide, Lust For Youth has streamlined and clarified the pounding synth sound first pioneered on Solar Flare in order to create a more accessible sound without losing any of the darker edges that make the outfit so engrossing. The precedents are clear: Gary Numan, Bauhaus, early New Order and any number of other minimal, dark-wave synth acts you care to make angular shapes to of a Saturday evening. But there are gloomy hidden depths here that aligns Lust For Youth with more recent bands like Cold Cave and cross-pollinates them with catchier affairs such as Junior Boys and fellow Swedes The Tough Alliance. For every pop-tinged thumper like ‘Behind Curtains’ there’s a squidgy shadow lurker like ‘La Rouge’; for every pacey, snakey trancer like ‘Always Changing’ there’s a downbeat rumbler like ‘Modern Life’. And while things can start to repeat themselves towards the end, Growing Seeds is short and sharp enough to satiate your dark ’80s soul even if it doesn’t dig quite as deep as early promise suggests.
