More than 20 years after Thomas Dolby released his last album, the synth-wiz is back with a new set of tracks. While fans might be looking forward to a cache of catchy keyboard riffs, crazy vocals and a cornucopia of mind-boggling studio effects, they will be in for a true surprise. For the bulk of A Map of the Floating City, Dolby turns away from the computer-based genius he is most known for.
Dolby is considered one of the finer producers and keyboardists of the new wave era, a distinction that often overshadowed his vocal talents, which are more prominently showcased in A Map of the Floating City. He also shows a more subtle creativity, opposite his 80s style, through the arrangement of the album. Neither of his first two tracks are, musically, an indication of what is to come in the rest of the collection, but the lyrics to “Nothing New Under the Sun” preview his intentions with some tongue-in-cheek disdain for living a bit too much in the past and not expanding one’s musical talents: “Hey, any fool can write a hit… I can smell my own armpit.”
Still, Dolby does pay homage to his own past with the second track, “Spice Train,” which mixes his 80s electro-synth-funk prowess with the more mellow vocal style he portrays in the rest of the collection. From here, listeners learn of the new, expanded Thomas Dolby. In the third track, “Evil Twin Brother,” Dolby sings a story similar to The Importance of Being Earnest over a soft keyboard that changes the moods by switching from a 70s pot-rock effect to a soft dance club rift. He then seamlessly moves to a lounge style with the downbeat “Jealous Thing” and does the same later in Map with “Simone.”
What is most surprising about the album Is Dolby’s command of country music, from the early twang employed in “Toad Lickers” or the 70s-era pop-country sound in “Road to Reno” and “`7 Hills.” In the latter two, his smooth crooning is reminiscent of John Denver in his prime. Much of this album tends to open Dolby’s longtime fan base up to what he might have sounded like if he hit the music scene before the new wave.
As many actors tend to fear being typecast, musicians do not always want to be known for only one hit song or one style of music. While keyboard and synthesizer effects were the focal points of Thomas Dolby’s music in the 80s, A Map of the Floating City is proof as to how one’s true musical talent can be overshadowed in favor of one’s production prowess.
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