st lucia matterThe sound of the Eighties is really back. Many artists of today’s music world are mining the sounds of that decade for inspiration. The latest is St. Lucia. Their second album is ripe with synths and sonic grooves of Eighties pop music. You’ll hear moments of Prince, Frankie Goes to Hollywood and Madonna while listening to the songs on Matter. To keep it all sounding modern there is also house music beats from this decade intermixed. This is synthpop at its most frenetic. The result is a collection of songs that are bursting with energy, catchy hooks, keyboard loops and grooves. Behind all the light musical accompaniment are lyrics that are at times complex and filled with double meanings. All this adds up to an album that is rather garish in tone and sound. Meaning it all becomes a little too much at times. If you listen to Top 40 radio aimed songs like “Physical”, “Love Somebody” and “Do You Remember” on their own they are quite palatable, but when you listen to the album front to back it becomes a bit much.