John Wright has established himself already within the music industry, as a photographer who has captured shots of some truly iconic artists. And now, with prompts from these established artist buddies of his, Wright is releasing music under the name Teenage Wildlife. His latest single, ‘The Last Great Love Affair’, is a brave venture onto experimental electropop shores… but is it one that pays off?

Wright’s voice, which has been described as “lovely” by One Direction’s Harry Styles, is coupled with a Daft Punk-lite robotic effect that creates an artistic contrast of artificial and human vocal lines. Artistic, yes, but it doesn’t always make for the easiest of listening. It has its moments where the natural vocal slips by undetected under a veil of effects and processing.

With that said, it’s got an oddly catchy beat. It’s not really a beat that has an immediate appeal, sounding a little bit of a mish-mash of parts at first. But give it a minute or so and you’re hooked on that exopop sound, following it through the audio world it is creating for itself.

And that’s largely what this song is. It’s not just a song, and it’s not just a piece of music. Wright has set out to create his own soundscape with this piece, and even the effect-heavy vocals add to this feeling that you’re not listening to something, you’re experiencing something. You’re exploring something. You’re going to a place build with layers of experimental sounds. And it’s a good place.

This track is best enjoyed with eyes closed and an open mind. It might take a little bit of time to enter the world Wright is making, but once you’re there you won’t want to leave.

The track is released on September 1.

8/10