Lovesexy (1988)
On first glance, Positivity seems the least positive song on the album. The opposite of an uplifting closer. It lacks the ecstatic abandon of Lovesexy or the neon “yeah yeah yeah” lunacy of Alphabet St. Even the brooding darkness of Anna Stasia quickly ascends into beatitude. The ballads soothe, and Dance On moves but Positivity sits stern-faced, delivering affirmations in a downbeat voice over a mono-beat – a perfect inversion of the album opener, Eye No, which radiates “no”s over shapeshifting, ebullient funk. But sometimes the sweetest nuts are the toughest to crack. Concentrate on Positivity’s snare drum like a black dot on one of those optical illusions and the contradictions fade as the cheat codes to everlasting happiness begin to reveal themselves. The marimba dances in your peripheries. Wild beasts play in the marginalia. Moods drift. Trees fall. Walls collapse. Don’t get distracted. Hold on to your soul, you’ve got a long way to go. Karmic tornadoes buffet you, as do questions and temptations but stay focused on the tantric beat. Are those military drums? The snare is now a cowbell. When did that happen? I thought I asked you to concentrate on it? When the beat finally disappears look around you. You’re now bathing in the waters of your baptism, listening to the same synths that greeted you on the start of your Lovesexy journey. This time they’re not obliterated by Elysian fire. You’ve levelled up. The world is in a higher resolution yet somehow has softer edges. Is this the New Power Generation? Or Satori? Uplifting anthems are for n00bz. Where we’re going we don’t need major thirds.