YEARS AND YEARS - NIGHT CALL
On the 18th of March 2021 electro-pop group Years and Years hit us with some good and bad news - while it’s members Mikey Goldsworthy and Emre Türkmen would be stepping down, Olly Alexander would be continuing the act as a solo project and releasing the third studio album on the 21st of January 2022 titled Night Call. What a whiplash of a news that day was for this band’s fans.
The band’s previous successes have really shined in the global electropop scene, with ‘King’ being their biggest single from debut album Communion, reaching number one in the UK Singles Charts as well us peaking in the top ten globally.
The group have gained credibility in the British pop/electronic scene with their concept-heavy albums such as Palo Santo with its android utopia imagery combining religious iconography with subversion of key themes like control and power.
You may have recently spotted Olly expanding out his creative talents into the acting world with TV Drama “It’s a Sin” set against the backdrop of the AIDS crisis where he gained quick critical acclaim. The multi-talented star is now back to his roots with the newest addition to the Years and Years collection of hits that feels heavily influenced by the queer history that Olly was exposed to while acting in the role. This is essentially Olly’s solo debut and it’s bolder, brighter, and more alluring than ever. It’s clear that having full creative control on a project has allowed Olly to be more personal and reflective of own experience as a queer pop sensation.
Previous albums and singles have aimed to make heartbreak straightforwardly danceable while this album steers in the direction of dance-pop oozing pure sexuality and desire. Night Call is led by an overarching euphemism for hooking up and celebrating on a good night out. It aims to drag us right back to the night club to dance the night away, filth and all. Olly seems to have washed away the shame and sin felt in Palo Santo choosing instead to subvert and surprise with more light-hearted tracks like ‘Sooner or Later’ that expresses the excitement of the chase for an intimate connection. Even on the cover Olly is a sultry and alluring mermaid enticing you into the deep dark waters, driving you underground with him to explore your deepest desires.
The album sound emphasises heavy synthetic beats and a heartbeat bassline that echoes the 80s gracefully. However, the tracks still feel very much rooted in contemporary pop with undeniable influence of albums such as Dua Lipa’s Future Nostalgia. The tracks are reminiscent of Kylie Minogue too and it’s a pleasant surprise to find a remix of ‘Starstruck’ with Minogue herself on the deluxe edition of the album as well as the collaboration on ‘A Second To Midnight’ to get us moving on the dancefloor.
‘Consequences’ is a powerful start giving us that funky feeling. This song reminds us of the power of Olly’s vocals and how distinctively bright they shine against a synth-heavy production. It’s an early indicating on the album of a fresh turn towards disco as Olly takes us by hand and leads us down to the club with him.
The leading single of the album ‘Starstruck’ may suffers from being rather tame, radio-friendly, and not so memorable on its own but sandwiched here in the album it really glows as a part of a whole. The big chorus made for blasting has a simple hook, “I can’t help it/ I get starstruck around you”, which brings us right back to the early 2000s. Olly explores sexual power dynamics and that theme of power and control he is known for, this time dipping into the feeling of playful submission.
Titular ‘Night Call’ is a deep-cut production with a wonderful disco sound where musical grooves create a nicely powerful feel, revealing strong pop muscle. It’s unashamedly hedonistic, screaming out “come and get it if you're brave”.
‘Crave’ is similarly brave, begging for “the pain from you” that you cannot live without despite how much it hurts. It has a swooning chorus and repeats “give me your love” to highlight that craving. The pounding bass creates a desperation for intimacy where Olly admits “I’ll do anything to stay if you want me to”.
The final shining star from the album ‘Sweet Talker’ is one of the big-name collaborations with Swedish sensation electronic group Galantis and a lyrical and musical highlight. It explores a manipulative relationship where the man of Olly’s dreams was not there for him and not what he initially seemed. Despite these red flags, desire has won against all logic as Olly continues to feed on his lies and seek validation, crying out “I could be the only one that you want” against a backdrop of Abba-style upbeat production straight from a disco dance floor.
In an interview with Zane Lowe, Olly explained his connection to the writing process for Night Call saying “I put all the kind of stuff I was missing, like going out, dancing, having sex. I just put it all into the record” later adding “it was like my escape”. This is what listening to the album feels like too. Olly attempts and succeeds to drag all of us back to the club and into the unknown, rules and restrictions be damned. The album is begging to blasted through a heavy sound system at your grottiest nightclub. It feels euphoric, cathartic, and utterly freeing after the isolation during the Covid-19 Pandemic. A sensational success and a very positive start of a new era for Years & Years.
Erika Andrejuskinaite
★★★★☆