The Golden Section (studio album)
by John Foxx

The gap between this record and the first solo record “Metamatic” is big. But who am I to judge a change of style? Of course I want a Metamatic part II (John Foxx will later on team up with Louis Gordon and kind of picking up the thread though saving the legendary Metamatic minimalism for his ambient works) but this album also has its merits, although Foxx makes no effort to hide what he was influenced by. There are many references to The Beatles (“Sitting at the edge”), Roxy Music and related New Romantics such as Visage), a very dated 80s production with complex vocal lines, electronic percussion, the obligatory female solo vocals that juggle exuberantly with high notes (can also be heard on "Avalon"), reversed tapes (“Endlessly”) etc. It is worthwhile that Foxx has succeeded in bringing together so many different components. Just a pity that only a few songs are of high quality and that the pop experiment will actually lead to a dead end. That is also what Gary Numan will have to deal with in those days: becoming completely irrelevant in a short period of time by wanting to reinvent himself, being radio-friendly, being burdened by the label of a one trick pony. Anyway, even though "Your Dress" is indebted to Roxy Music at the time of Avalon (the strings, the sound of the bass, the sound of the solo synthesizer), it's a pretty good composition with a beautiful, romantic atmosphere. Overall, the vocal performance of John Foxx is pretty good and perhaps the best of his career.