Commuter 23
Studio album by
Blancmange
Released11 March 2016[1]
Length58:24
LabelBlanc Check Records
ProducerNeil Arthur
Blancmange chronology
Nil by Mouth
(2015)		 Commuter 23
(2016)		 Unfurnished Rooms
(2017)

Commuter 23 is the eighth studio album by British Synth-pop band Blancmange, released in 2016. The album reached No. 38 in the UK Independent Albums Chart.[2]

In December 2016, the album was followed by the EP Red Shift, which features a reworking of four tracks from Commuter 23: "Red Shift", "Judge Mental", "Jack Knife" and "Last Night (I Dreamt I Had a Job)".[3]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
The Arts Desk[4]
Louder Than War[5]
MusicOMH[6]
Record Collector[7]

Upon release, Graeme Marsh of MusicOMH commented: "Whilst Nil by Mouth was entirely instrumental, Commuter 23 walks a similar path but this time adds back in the odd vocal here and there. It dabbles in ambience and experimentation as before, as well as minimalism, synth soundscapes and occasional downright weirdness but with – in the main – a more humane feel."[6] Paul Scott-Bates of Louder Than War wrote: "Commuter 23 sees Blancmange continue to mature. As Arthur continues well into his fifties, so the music develops beyond the perfect pop of the 80s and further into a more comfortable sounding, often experimental phase."[5]

Ian Shirley of Record Collector described Commuter 23 as a "compelling earful [and] musically a wide-ranging collection".[7] Thomas H Green of The Arts Desk commented that the album had a "classy retro-futurism, in the same way that OMD's last album English Electric did. Blancmange now successfully mine a territory somewhere between John Foxx, Kraftwerk and 1990s post-clubbing analogue ambience."[8]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Neil Arthur

No.TitleLength
1."Red Shift (Blame Thrower)"5:17
2."Flight 2157"2:10
3."Commuter 23"4:07
4."I Wish I Was You"4:45
5."Last Night (I Dreamt I Had a Job)"4:58
6."Jack Knife"5:51
7."Elemental Change"3:49
8."Waiting All the Time"5:14
9."NHS"2:10
10."It'll Pass Maybe"4:32
11."Judge Mental"3:03
12."Scarred"4:09
13."St Paul's"2:26
14."Time Day_Night"5:53

Chart performance

Chart (2016) Peak
position
UK Independent Albums Chart[2] 38

Personnel

  • Neil Arthur - lead vocals, keyboards, recording, mixing, artwork
  • Joe Caithness - mastering
Other
  • Adam Yeldham - artwork
  • Helen Kincaid - asteroid painting
  • Steve Malins - management

References

  1. ↑ "Commuter 23". Blancmange. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
  2. 1 2 "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50 | Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
  3. ↑ "Blancmange – Red Shift Ep". Electronic Sound. 20 May 2016. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
  4. ↑ Barney Harsent (18 March 2015). "CD: Blancmange – Semi Detached". theartsdesk.com.
  5. 1 2 The Author Words by Paul Scott-Bates (9 March 2016). "Blancmange: Commuter 23 - album review". Louder Than War. Retrieved 24 October 2018. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  6. 1 2 "Blancmange - Commuter 23 | Album Reviews". 7 March 2016.
  7. 1 2 "Commuter 23 - Record Collector Magazine". Recordcollectormag.com. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
  8. ↑ "CD: Blancmange - Commuter 23". 8 March 2016.
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