On “A Great Design,” the first single from Black Marble's upcoming debut LP, A Different Arrangement, the formerly frigid and forbidding Brooklyn coldwave duo are lighting candles while embracing the darkness. A flickering synth melody repeats, a bassline pumps warm blood, and Chris Stewart’s vocals are projected from some remote airlock far beyond New York City (or anywhere with human contact). There’s a shapeliness and structure to “A Great Design”, proving Black Marble's sound possesses pop elements that they’re simply keeping at a distance.

[from A Different Arrangement; out 10/09/12 via Hardly Art]