German meddler Jennifer Touch set out on her musical pursuits looking to imitate the technicolour glee of the Pet Shop Boys and Yazoo, but after a turbulent incubation period she stumbled upon something completely of her own. Born in Dresden, before honing her craft in Leipzig and Berlin, Touch effortlessly weaves her synth-pop and disco influences amid the cold thuds you’d readily associate with the clubs of Germany. An urban, icy affair, Behind the Wall showcases a producer in her element. 

Touch’s calling card is the ease with which she stitches her beloved synth pop into techno, EBM and more. ‘Daria’ combines a leathery DAF beat with the brightness and playfulness of a Nintendo soundtrack, whilst ‘Iggy’s Slight’ is a pounding floorfiller with one foot in the here and now and one foot in the ‘80s. A truly urbane record, the icy synthesisers rarely become staid; they whirr like a buzzsaw on ‘Teflon’, and pulse on ‘I Love You, Let’s Go’; this is a very dynamic and versatile record that is genuinely fun throughout. 

Whilst never re-inventing the wheel, ‘Behind the Wall’ instead lets us into the vivid artistic world of Jennifer Touch. Never does it fall into the pit of being cold and emotionless, but instead comes alive, an ever-vibrant metropolis, with every synth fizz enchanting in its own divine way.