One record at a time: 526. John Foxx - The Golden Section

To bolster my John Foxx vinyl collection, I picked up the 40th Anniversary edition of "The Golden Section". My copy arrived signed by the artist, which ought to feel thrilling, though this is becoming such a regular occurrence that I may soon have to start pretending to be harder to impress. This edition is pressed on clear vinyl, although because it was manufactured by GZ Media, "clear" turns out to mean "milky with ambitions". As usual, the inner sleeve came generously stocked with paper dust and assorted debris. It is best to think of this as celebratory confetti marking the arrival of a new record. If you choose to consider it the result of poor quality control, the whole experience becomes more upsetting.

"The Golden Section" arrived three years after Foxx’s iconic debut "Metamatic", and it finds him moving into much lusher, more polished territory. The austere, ice-cold minimalism of that earlier record has not disappeared entirely, but here it is softened and refracted through a more openly melodic, and at times almost commercial prism. Rather than remaining tucked away with engineer Gareth Jones, Foxx assembled a cast that included Mike Howlett, Zeus B Held and J.J. Jeczalik, and the result is a beautifully crafted cocktail of early synth-pop. Bass guitar, Simmons SDSV drums and the Fairlight all play a significant role in shifting the sound away from the brittle, taut edges of "Metamatic" and towards something richer, sleeker and more romantic. It is still unmistakably Foxx, but this time he seems less interested in documenting the end of the modern world and more interested in providing the soundtrack for a slightly mysterious evening in it.

"Someone" is an excellent example of this new approach, with Fairlight strings and Foxx’s brooding vocal combining to produce something close to perfect electronic pop. It has elegance, restraint and just enough emotional distance to remind you whose album this is. For me, though, the two real standouts are "Your Dress" and "Endlessly". "Your Dress" is a sleek, dance-rock inflected track built around sharp Fairlight samples and a crisp, stylish sense of momentum. "Endlessly" is a multi-layered pop song with a driving bassline and a gorgeous, melancholy melody, and it manages to sound both emotionally open and meticulously controlled. It captures that very brief intersection between Foxx’s solo identity and the more expansive arena-synth trajectory of his former band, Ultravox. 

The embarrassment of riches on this record means there are strong ideas and melodies elsewhere, particularly on tracks such as "Ghost on the Water" and "Like a Miracle". These songs have a slightly darker sound, which provides a welcome counterpoint to the pop orientated material such as "My Wild Love". There is a faint sense throughout that John Foxx is balancing instinct with calculation, never quite abandoning his distinctive cool but presenting it in a form polished enough for wider consumption. That tension gives the record much of its character. Even when it aims for sleekness, there is still something slightly strange and emotionally distant lurking underneath, which is usually when the album is at its most interesting. Things tail off a little towards the end, but it is impossible to lose sight of what has gone before. By that point the album has already made its case, not as a flawless whole, but as a stylish, intelligent and often quietly addictive record that rewards repeated listens. 3.5/5