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Experimental/electronic pop by Lucy Anstey.
Our take: 10 Past 10 is the debut 8-song cassette from this solo project helmed by Lucy Anstey. I am a big fan of Lucy’s band Primetime (maybe you are too?), so when I saw this solo release hyped in Neon Taste’s newsletter, I had to check it out. Primetime always had great pop melodies, and that carries over to Viscount, though the instrumentation is quite different. There’s probably a better comparison out there, but many of the tracks on 10 Past 10 remind me of New Order’s electronic pop: drum machines, synthesizers, dance rhythms and big pop instrumental and vocal hooks. That’s the core of the sound, but there are also two more abstract instrumentals (“Dungeon” and “Third Floor Corridor”) that break up 10 Past 10 nicely, as well as a cover song at the end of each side. I like the cover of “Rose Garden,” but Viscount’s cover of “When You’re Happy You Won’t Understand” by the Bartlebees really blew me away. I’m not familiar with the Bartlebees—Discogs tells me they’re a 90s German garage/indie band—but in Viscount’s hands, “When You’re Happy” is a beautiful slice of wistful 80s-style indie-pop with a minimal synth backbone and an absolutely classic chorus. I have a feeling I’ll be putting this song on mix tapes for many years to come. All of 10 Past 10 is great though… maybe its title shoulda been 10 out of 10?