This album is from the 1980s right? Space March is from Australia and play guilty pleasure Synth Pop. If you like Erasure, New Order and Depeche Mode, you’ll appreciate the synthy poppiness of Space March. I feel like doing “the robot.”

Space March is an indie-synthpop project from Craig Simmons and Monumental is the third album. I didn’t know I would actually enjoy this album as much as I did. I suppose I’m a bit nostalgic of the 80s pop music. I’m a sucker for it basically. The synth part of the music is really catchy, and the vocals is similar to the Pet Shop Boys. I’m actually surprised I haven’t heard of Space March until now because this would be something I would like. The first two tracks “American Girl” and “Monumental” are my favorites on the album. “Do You Remember My Name” has some nice reference to Duran Duran. All in all, most of the album is just a lot of fun to listen to. Don’t be a pencil neck, listen to some tracks!

Bottom Line: If this music was released in the 80s, it would be an international hit
Notable Tracks: American Girl, Monumental, Do You Remember My Name
Overall Rating: 3.5 stars

Publication: Read Junk
Date: 6 December 2011
Reviewer: Bryan Kremkau
Web Site Review Page: Read Junk

‘Monumental’ is the third album from Australian Modern SynthPop artist Space March.

The record is a collection of twelve tracks of melodic and lilting electronic Pop tracks that have a definite emphasis on hooks. There is a pure Pop sensibility at work on much here, especially the likes of the title track where synths, guitar and bouncy vocals work in tandem. That’s not to say, though, that most of the album isn’t pretty dancefloor oriented. From the pumping Italo Disco of ‘Get What You Deserve’ to the grandiose soundtrack dance epic of ‘Eye For An Eye’, Space march’s combination of machine beats and synths with a Sci-Fi twist with organic instrumentation and vocals with a hint of drama makes for quite a rousing experience and a SynthPop album that rings with a sense of narrative. Now, long-time readers will know how I feel about the so-called Modern SynthPop scene, and there is a strong strain of Modern SynthPop in this record’s DNA. What sets it apart, though, is the production. Everything is clean and sits together well in the mix, there’s not a hint of the amateurish, bedroom production (with no idea how to produce drums) that plagues the majority of Modern SynthPop, whether that has anything to do with input from Erasure/Depeche Mode/A-Ha/Tricky collaborator Mark Saunders in the mixing department I’m not sure, but whatever the reason Space march have made a Modern SynthPop record that is head and shoulders above it’s contemporaries.

Publication: Electronic Rumors
Date: November 24, 2011
Reviewer: Clive ‘Crash’ Lewis
Web Site Review Page: Electronic Rumors

Space March is a one-man electro explosion band created by Australian Craig Simmons. His second album, Without This You Can Never Change, is a collection of beat thumping anthems that would be at home in any hip club of eager dancers, but the album definitely calls for indie-pop-electronica musical taste to truly be appreciated. Space March is intensely melodic pop that relies heavily on a combination of the human and the machine. Craig Simmons utilizes synthesizers, guitars, strings, and electric pianos to create this upbeat music while his strong vocals wrap around the sounds to guide listeners into his dreamlike world.

In the intro song, “About To Explode,” Simmons starts out with cutting throbs that invoke visions of laser tag sounds before he bursts into a declaration that, “Without this you can never change, time will heal almost everything.” This and all subsequent songs seem to maintain a theme of time and growth, subject matter that is easily relatable to the lives of his listeners. “Four Winds” is a breezy song about moving on and building oneself up to have that strength. In this song, Simmons sings, “I’m closing down, I am getting out, I am like the Devil, but it’s more devout. I could buy a thousand souls and still not find a way to take you and keep all four winds at bay.”

While his lyrics are touching, loving, and relatable, they also portray a certain air of inaccessibility that is a bit refreshing in a time of transferable sentiment. He sings songs that challenge listeners to question the potential of how much this vivacious music truly can change one’s life.

Publication: Feminist Review
Date: April, 2008
Reviewer: Djuna A. Davidson
Web Site Review Page: Feminist Review

Electronic pop, rock and roll in full force. Not strictly new wave or laptop or that sort of thing–though there are similarities, of course.

The main similarity is that Space March is one Craig Simmons, and this album is seriously assembled. Not unlike the Elliot Carlson Botero album I reviewed earlier, the electronics serve their master and don’t wag the dog.

Yeah, there are Erasure or even Abba-esque moments. And there are some serious kick-ass rock bits. Sometimes in the same song. Simmons is a master of assimilation, which probably will put off a few people. That’s okay. He appears to be serving the interests of good music, and I’ll vote on that party line every time.

Fun and engaging. Simmons has a sense of melody and lyric that reminds me a bit of Stephin Merritt (Magnetic Fields, etc.). Simmons lives in a much brighter universe, but his occasional wry asides (in both music and lyrics) tell me that his eyes are wide open. He simply prefers to walk on the brighter path. Works for me.

Publication: Aiding & Abetting
Date: December, 2007
Reviewer: Jon Worley
Web Site Review Page: Aiding & Abetting

Some bands these days pay homage to an older era by incorporating the sounds into their music. Others, like Space March, play music so authentically retro that it’s hard to believe it was made in this era. Essentially a one man synth band, Space March is the closest thing to Depeche Mode I’ve heard since, well, Depeche Mode. And the record is good, too. One of the greatest strengths in recreating the authentic synth pop sound is the use of programmed drums, synthesizers, guitars, and most of all, Craig Simmons’ voice, a perfect mix between the lead singer of the Go-Betweens and New Order.

I do think that Simmons is a better performer than songwriter. And that’s not to say that any of the songs are bad, but none of the tracks, except maybe album highlight ‘Canadian Girls’ comes close to the brilliance of ‘Personal Jesus’, ‘Bizarre Love Triangle’, or ‘A Little Respect’. But it’s not without trying. The album is absolutely consistent in its retro sound, with a slightly dark undertone but a generally bubbly nature. Play this for your next 80s party and nobody will believe it was made in 2007.

RATING & SUMMARY:
Bottom Line: Perfectly recreated 80s synth pop. Hard to believe how accurate it is.
Notable Tracks: Canadian Girls, Impossible, About To Explode
Overall Rating: 4 Stars

Publication: Read Junk
Date: December, 2007
Reviewer: Daniel Field
Web Site Review Page: Read Junk