I read this week that A-Ha were calling it a day after 25 years. I used to be a big, big fan of A-Ha, up to and including 'The Living Daylights,' but haven't really followed their career much since then, and so the news didn't upset me all that much.
It's perhaps ironic then that while their star faded from the mid-80s onwards, they've now been usurped by myriad synth-pop band who surely owe as much to the Danish trio as any of the other 80s greats (but prefer to only name-drop New Order and the like, because A-Ha are considered 'cheesy' while New Order are 'cred.')
'Smash and Grab' actually sounds more like Ultravox, Gary Numan and A Flock of Seagulls (another band who now have countless soundalikes but no recognition) than A-Ha. Uncool as it is to admit it, I happen to like A Flock of Seagulls, and 'Smash and Grab' does boast a niggling melody and a killer chorus. The Keith & Supabeatz remix, however, is bloody awful, while B-side 'High Definition' is rather generic-sounding for the most part, but is a definite grower if you can look past the 'haircut' element of the band's package.
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