Old Future Crash - Outside Time

Being in the world that I am, there are three bands that PR people (and lazy journalists) use as comparisons, these are Jellyfish, XTC and ELO. I'm sure people in other genres must get comparisons to bands that they are long term fans of or are hip to like.

ELO wise, few usually are, probably the closest was a deliberate pastiche from Bleu and Mike Viola's L.E.O. There are a few others though. Well Olod Future Crash seem deliberately ELO, we are talking. This album could be in Rutles vs Beatles territory.






You hear an Intro and think, that's Steppin' Out, but this is so well done, the band are obviously fans. We are in Time - Secret Messages era onward. A title like I'm A Robot could only sound like it could be on Time. There's even a one minute Overture to start the album and a finale to close.

Old Future Crash are a three piece from Valencia and guests have expanded the sound. Pedro Lopez has done a fine job with the vocals. It's easy to sneer at how ELO it all is, to a tee in parts, This Is Heaven is virtually Turn To Stone, but it is all so wonderfully done.





I remember a well known musician telling me that everyone steals something musically and that he'd rather hear something copied done well than original rubbish. There's a point thhere and this even has rain clouds on it.

But all in all, you can't help but like it. it's great pop, let's call it ELO 3. People get the Lynne vocals down better, but the arrangements are pretty spot on. Outside Time caught me completely by surprise and I'm glad it did.






You can listen to and buy the album here.