Reviewed by Paul J Zickler
Released: 1981 Bolland (AKA Bolland & Bolland) The Domino Theory Genre: Synthpop Opera Rating: 2.75 out of 5 Highlights: You're In The Army Now Let's Help A*R*V*I*N Out Ferdi and Rob Bolland are two Dutch songwriters & music producers. You may have heard of a little tune they created with Falco called Rock Me Amadeus. Another composition of theirs, In The Army Now, was a huge UK hit for Status Quo. Following an overture, that song leads off this album, an anti-war synthpop opera titled The Domino Theory. Forty-plus years after the Reagan/Thatcher era began, it’s hard to remember how common it used to be for musicians to openly write about the evils of war, especially nuclear war. Sure, people point to Vietnam era hippie music and smile nostalgically, but Gen X gets overlooked in this, as in everything else. The idea of a world-ending nuclear exchange felt very real in 1981, and music reflected that. As the titles suggest, Vietnam is a major theme -- Heart of Darkness, Cambodia Moon -- but by the end, the focus is on a Rendezvous With Radiation. Some of these songs verge on Eurodisco, others sound a bit like Dutch Styx, others show a clear Alphaville influence. Every song segues into the next (except at the end of side one of course), all the lyrics seem to connect in some way to the consequences of war, and there’s an instrumental Finale, which ends with a synthetic explosion and a few seconds of silence. The standout tracks for me are You’re In the Army Now and Let's Help A*R*V*I*N Out. It took awhile to figure out the latter referred to the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN). This one reminds me a bit of XTC and has a solid hook. As with any concept album, the whole is intended to be greater than the sum of its parts. Personally, I had a hard time feeling too much pathos with the bouncy synths and fairly generic lyrics. A good effort overall, but maybe deservedly obscure.
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