Michał Dziadosz is a Polish multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and composer . Under the moniker of Strange Pop he has released Ten Years Gone (2022),1979-1982 (2023) and Urban Legends (2024). Now in 2025 he released his fourth studio album titled Ghost In The Old Tape. With Ghost In The Old Tape Dziadosz steps with all of us in a time machine that takes us back to the 80s. He wanted to record material about the 1980s and in the style of the 1980s. In his opinion that era naturally blended with "progress" in its musical layer. Besides, he didn't really know any other version of the 1980s. He was never in its dance scene. The most radio-friendly artists he listened to were, among others, Kim Wilde and A-ha. Moreover, he has always been drawn to the atmosphere of the more ambitious music from that time. Lyrically, Ghost In The Old Tape presents very universal stories set in the 1980s, among which many of us can find our own experiences. Poetically, however, it is primarily about reminiscing on a (not always sweet) childhood arcadia, deeply rooted in the mature lyrical subject's profound awareness of the passage of time. The emotions tied to these reminiscences are varied. They range from bitter reflections on the inevitable as you can hear on Dempsey And Makepeace and Requiem For My Childhood. But also to the excitement of the magical world around as you can hear on Old Mansions and Halley's Comet. But also youthful fascinations as you can hear on In Your Eyes (School Love). Furthermore the intense polarization of moods during the fall of communism in Poland as can be heard on In The Garden. But also a tribute to pop culture as is notable on VHS Ninja. Finally, the dilemmas of adults unnecessarily imposed on the growing children of that era on The Longest Night. The message of the album is that nothing ever truly ends or begins, at least not until we fully come to terms with the course of events and accept all possible consequences of our actions. Until we realize that all the most important events in our lives have their roots in childhood, we won't be able to move forward. Ghost In The Old Tape is the final album in the first "therapeutic and reconciliatory" chapter. Like all previous Strange Pop albums, this latest one serves as a kind of summary and residue of the mature lyrical subject's life so far. It primarily tells the story of a childhood arcadia, but not in a naive way. The sweet-and-bitter message of the album can resonate with anyone who hasn't stopped growing and wants to move forward. The final track on the album, Requiem For My Childhood ends with a symbolic "minute of silence," which is, in reality, a patchwork of fragments from songs intended for a future album that will never come to be. This artistic device serves as a metaphor for all the things that will never happen because the past unfolded exactly the way it did. In other words: we are here because of the entire chain of events that preceded us. Perhaps we wouldn't even exist if those events had taken a different course. As for the music he tells us that he was inspired by Pink Floyd (A Momentary Lapse Of Reason), Marillion (Misplaced Childhood, Clutching At Straws), David Sylvian (Gone To Earth), as well as Tangerine Dream, Mike Oldfield, Jean Michel Jarre and Ultravox. However not all of those influences are notable. Most of all Marillion is difficult to hear on the eight compositions. The largest part of the album sounds like pop music from the eighties. Not so strange of course if you name yourself Strange Pop. Most of all the first part of the album. For instance on Dempsey And Makepeace you hear influences from Depeche Mode and Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark. And The Longest Night seems to be inspired by Ultravox. As for the songs with vocals you might think you are listening to Riverside's Mariusz Duda. Good examples are In Your Eyes (School Love) and The Longest Night. Therefore it isn't so strange that you sometimes hear music related to Riverside and Lunatic Soul. The ultimate highlight is for me without any doubt the ten minutes long Requiem For My Childhood. It contains a two minutes long synthesizer solo and more progressive rock influences from the earlier mentioned acts. All in all Ghost In The Old Tape is not a bad album. Most of all if you like not too complex or complicated music with influences taken from eighties pop music mixed with elements taken from progressive rock and electronic music. But don't expect to hear music you might find on albums such as A Momentary Lapse Of Reason), Misplaced Childhood or Clutching At Straws. That's from a different order. *** Henri Strik (edited by Tracy van Os van den Abeelen) Where to buy? |
