Music / Systems of Romance

"Hush, can you feel the breeze of another day?"

Systems of Romance, released in 1978 through Island Records in the UK and Antilles Records in the US, is the third album by British Post-Punk band Ultravox. It would be the last to feature frontman John Foxx and the only one to feature guitarist Robin Simon; both would leave afterwards as a result of Creative Differences with the rest of the band. The album continues the band's transition from punkish Glam Rock into New Romantic Synth-Pop, aided by a shift in producers from Steve Lillywhite to Krautrock veteran Conny Plank, who incorporated the electronic and Echoing Acoustics-centric style that he'd created with Germany's experimental acts.

While it took for their next album Vienna to complete said transition, the wheels were already in motion on Systems of Romance, which is a New Wave Music album through and through. Ironically, Foxx left because of his preference for a synth-driven sound clashing with his more rockist bandmates, making the galvanization of the shift in sound under Midge Ure's leadership somewhat amusing to look at under the circumstances.

The album also featured several technological advancements and unconventional (and complicated) recording techniques. For example, the opening track "Slow Motion" allegedly makes use of an early multi-effect guitar pedal. Songs such as "Dislocation" are completely electronic. While by no means the first album to ever feature synthesizers in a prominent role, it did so in a way that had more in common with The '80s than it did The '70s. Foxx would go for a cold, stark Synth-Pop sound for his first solo album Metamatic, but he too would return to the sound of this album for his second, The Garden.

Tracklist

Side 1

1. "Slow Motion" (3:29)
2. "I Can't Stay Long" (4:16)
3. "Someone Else's Clothes" (4:25)
4. "Blue Light" (3:09)
5. "Some of Them" (2:29)

Side 2

1. "Quiet Men" (4:08)
2. "Dislocation" (2:55)
3. "Maximum Acceleration" (3:53)
4. "When You Walk Through Me" (4:15)
5. "Just for a Moment" (3:10)

Principal members

• Warren Cann - drums, rhythm machine, vocals
• Chris Cross - bass, synthesizer, vocals
• Billy Currie - keyboards, violin
• John Foxx - vocals
• Robin Simon - guitar, vocals

Never never troping under:

• The '80s: While this album came out in 1978, it couldn't really sound anything less like it. It is arguably a sonic precursor to the early 80s, especially the songs "Slow Motion", "Dislocation" and "Quiet Men".
• Radio Voice: The "we'll never leave here never" part of "Just for a Moment" is filtered in a manner similar to this.
• Minimalistic Cover Art: Simply five small photographs against a solid black backdrop, with the band name and album title in plain white lettering at the top.
• New Sound Album: While technically a transitional album, Systems of Romance sounds pretty different to their preceding albums, featuring a greater amount of synthesizers and a more ethereal tone than anticipates the more overtly New Romantic style of the forthcoming Midge Ure era. This is especially highlighted by the closing track, "Just for a Moment", which sounds like a prototype of the next album's Title Track.
• Tick Tock Tune: "Dislocation" starts with a tick-tock percussive sound.
• Robot or Spaceman Alter Ego: "Quiet Men" is where Foxx's "Quiet Man" persona originated from.
• Title-Only Chorus: "Slow Motion". "Quiet Men" and "Dislocation" as well if you don't count the "oh"s.

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