"The Last Romantic" conjures moods from downbeat to uptempo, playing off Jackson's requisite themes of life, love, and dreams -- all filtered through his surrealist lens. Many of the songs are inspired by the sound of 80's electro beats from classic drum machines and tinted with shades of post-punk-goth, punctuated by Jackson's distinctive vocal style. Standout tracks include "Your Dreams," with its languid mid-tempo groove and the more frenzied (painfully yet amusingly honest) "Definition of Insanity." Check out the space-lounge groove that kicks in halfway through "Locked Up," the dark art-rock psychedelia of "Come Back Around," and the electroclash funk of the album's definitive opening track, "Return to Love." In addition to his extensive work as a solo artist, Andrew Lawrence Jackson is a founding member of San Francisco avant-pop duo Zru Vogue.

Category: Music

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