Greeen Linez
Things That Fade

Greeen Linez is the name chosen by Matt Lyne (co-founder of Diskotopia) and Chris Greenberg to bring to life a project that takes the sounds of the '80s beyond the uses (and abuses) that the last decade has made of them. A sort of return to the origins that cannot overlook what has happened to the Detroit sound in the last 30 years. The result is this "Things that fade" which, contrary to any expectation, does not close into a mere nostalgia operation. Although some episodes sound like exercises in style and souvenirs of an era now past, the whole thing seems to make sense within the logic of the album (see "Hibiscus Pacific" in its reference to the sounds of a California on the cusp of the '90s).

Dominating this work are the sounds produced by the first digital synthesizers marketed (you will notice, right from the initial "March 12th Street," the use of old Yamaha DX7s). However, there is much more than a simple retro taste in these 12 tracks. First of all, it should be noted that, beyond any foxy strategy, there is a great production work that gives the album a characteristic sense of balance. Every composition seems to be suspended in mid-air, held aloft like a feather by an ideal absence of weight. The whole almost seems to want to display unsurpassed elegance; without attracting too much attention (except in the most Atkins-like "Cubic Mentality"). In addition, during the tracks, one cannot help but notice a compendium of what the synths said in the eighties: "City Cell 1" even recalls sounds typical of the new romantic vein. Perhaps among the greatest qualities of this work is the emphasis given to what is often forgotten of the '80s. Tracks like "Knowledge" (perhaps the pinnacle of this album) highlight how much the upcoming trip-hop owes to this decade. All the imagery related to those years is collected in "Things that fade". Indeed, this plunge into the past cannot help but carry with it the defects of those years, and in the long run, there remains a sense of artificiality that does not let us fully appreciate what we listen to. Alongside high-level episodes ("Palm Coast Freeway," "Courtside Daydreams") we find less successful ones that dilute the enchantment that the project is undoubtedly capable of creating.

Perhaps a rather unimpressive work when compared to what has been said on the subject in recent years. Certainly, however, able to do justice and merit to those who made possible the subsequent evolutions. A good introduction to what was said, for better or worse, in the era of floppy synthesizers.