Bananarama. It doesn’t seem like we’ve heard from them in a while! Yet, YMCA flatmates turned bandmembers Sara [Dallin] and Keren [Woodward] are still in the studio and their newest single ‘Supernova’ is just one of the new songs, including ‘Feel the Love’, to be released with their 40th anniversary look back album: ‘Glorious: The Ultimate Collection’.
In the single – released January 19th – they’ve stuck to what they know, starting off with a foot-tapping retro synth beat which quite quickly takes a volta into a ghoul of a melody. Transporting the place of the song from dance anthem to one of dreamy love song, even ballad at points. Backing that up, is the lyrics that – whilst being full of cliches – work. “Brighter than a galaxy / It’s like gravity” illustrate the longing for love and its explosive possession over us quite magically. The look of love (as fellow 80’s band ABC once wrote about) is “Like diamonds in your eyes” in Bananarama’s lines, and through a reference to the diamonds made on Venus in the harshest of conditions they prove the strength of passion.
Can you tell by my increasing enthusiasm going through this review, that this song is a grower? I promise you, if you accidentally put this on repeat for half an hour like I did, you’d know all the lines too. The video has an interesting dodgy VCR quality that, when mixed with animations, manage to synthesize vintage and new to produce something relevant and, to the aspiring graphic designer in me, pretty cool. It is also refreshingly empty of noise and chaos, allowing the words to just sink in. For me, I see this song just sneaking into the charts, donning its yellow shoulder-padded blazer, and having a middle-aged disco.
Words by Matthew Carter
Support The Indiependent
We’re trying to raise £200 a month to help cover our operational costs. This includes our ‘Writer of the Month’ awards, where we recognise the amazing work produced by our contributor team. If you’ve enjoyed reading our site, we’d really appreciate it if you could donate to The Indiependent. Whether you can give £1 or £10, you’d be making a huge difference to our small team.