Music Reviews of Techno, Trance, Industrial, Electronica
Band Spotlight
Chiodos
Perhaps no one can explain the sheer ferocity and timid quietness it is better than when vocalist Craig Owens says “we don’t want to let the kids down” when discussing the group’s intense vocals live at shows. Well they never let a single kid down with their vicious assault on the ears and grip on the jugular...
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Current Top Ten Chart
Skinny Puppy - Mythmaker
Converge - No Heroes
The Graduate - Anhedonia
Death By Stereo - Death Alive
Comeback Kid - Broadcasting
The Snake The Cross The Crown - Cotton Teeth
Dear and the Headlights - Small Steps, Heavy Hooves
The Geeks - Every Time We Fall
Limbeck - Limbeck
WinterKids - Memoirs
03.09.2007 by J-Sin
Music Reviews of Techno, Trance, Jungle, Trip-Hop, Industrial, Electronica, IDM, House, Drum&Bass
Mordacious — This Emptiness Buy it at Amazon
Bouncy heavy four-to-the-floor beats thunder their way from the speakers into your body singlehandedly urging you to move. Caustic distorted vocals remind one a bit of a mixture of Leaetherstrip and Frontline Assembly with more horrifically themed lyrics. EBM has had a place in my heart for quite some time and folks who take the sound and morph even more extreme with gabber-esque dance rhythms and synthetic melodies turn my body into mush. Forget raving, this is straight-out insanity and heavier than industrial could ever hope to be.
- J-Sin
Massive Attack — Collected: The Best of Massive Attack Buy it at Amazon
Trip-hop extraordinaire Massive Attack while readying their new album in ’07 decided to assemble a “Greatest Hits” of sorts. But not one to profit on the same songs available on their albums, Massive Attack pulled together a dual disc filled with a DVD that consists of all of their music videos with a flip side of new and rare songs. Their new single “Live With Me” featuring Terry Callier on vocals is also included to give you a nice taste of what’s in store. In addition, there’s a full audio disc filled with other tracks from their storied and celebrated past. If you haven’t had the pleasure of being introduced to this fantastic group who even did the soundtrack to the gritty “Danny the Dog” film, than this is the perfect way to bust your cherry.
- J-Sin
Overlap — Faded Buy it at Amazon
Various ambient recordings from ’92 to ’04 are spotlighted on Overlap’s “Faded” album. Abandoning the more electro/EBM sounds of “Electric Paint” for atmospheric ambient, the U.K.’s Overlap sounds a hell of a lot better. Infused with gothic overtures, “Faded” can really reach back and tap sounds that Eno fine-tuned years before. Much better production makes this more listenable than “Electric Paint”.
- J-Sin
Overlap — Electric Paint Buy it at Amazon
Lo-fi production and MIDI electronics make this album somewhat amateur sounding. The vocals are distracting at times since they really dominate the mix and can be slightly off. I think much of the issues throughout “Electric Paint” could be solved with a bigger budget and a few more attention to details—for example the nasty bass-heavy break on “The Thing” is fitting of clubs but its synths are too far back in the mix to really make it pop out.
- J-Sin
Rena Jones — Driftwood Buy it at Amazon
Ambient instrumentals that float onwards and upwards finding a groove that even the most disciplined ear may miss, “Driftwood” is a biting documentary of sound. Fetching ambient chops within disciplined noodling of cast aside melodies, Rena Jones finds a happy juxtaposition for which all ambient music shall be based upon this year. Without a doubt, one of the more intriguing listens this year.
- J-Sin
Delerium — Nuages Du Monde Buy it at Amazon
I’ve been a huge fan of Delerium the second that Rhys Fulber and Bill Leeb, both Frontline Assembly stalwarts, decided to form the side project. They’ve seen both huge commercial appeal via songs off of “Chimera” and dashed ambient landscapes in “Karma”. Always finding some of the world’s best collaborators, Delerium puts the spotlight on Punjabi singer Kiran Ahluwalia on “Indoctrination” which is a nice four-to-the-floor dance number, Armenian-Canadian soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian, Kristy Thirsk (a semi-member since their ’95 debut “Semantic Spaces”), Zoe Johnston, and Kirsty Hawkshaw whose stints with Orbital, DJ Tiesto, and BT have been well-recognized among even the most clueless dance fan. This album boasts brilliantly produced songs with a bevy of melody and beats that are rich in synthetic rhythm. Pure brilliance this golden is hard to find—even on the oft-talented roster of Nettwerk.
- J-Sin
Niobe — White Hats Buy it at Amazon
German electronica artist Niobe unleashes a new album that directs traffic towards melancholic atmospheres of sultry post-jazz eeriness. Her vocals are in the mold of the Canadian songstress Feist with superb range. On “White Hats” she lets the creative juices flow with bizarre lullabies and ambient bossa nova grooves. Marvelous melodies that stretch out in Bjork-esque fashion with intriguing instrumentations and laptop rhythms interspersed. A brilliant future-pop adventure.
- J-Sin
Jimmy James — Jamestown Buy it at Amazon
Great house beats collide with rhythmic R&B vibes and pop’s more naughty side on “Jamestown”. Jimmy James knows that he’s peerless and flaunts it—every bit and byte of it. Fun and raunchy house music that likes to be unabashedly gay and unexceptionally dramatic and unashamed.
- J-Sin
Acumen Nation — Anticore Buy it at Amazon
Industrial metal mavens Acumen Nation were a band that I sure loved a lot when I was a lot younger. Fast forward six albums and several tours and “Anticore” is the appetizer for our industrial metal appetite. Think KMFDM on crack with Sevendust’s brave knack for heavy melodic rock. Acumen Nation is rich in samples and thick grooves while guitar-ladled heaviness is but a mere side step. Deft programming with immaculate lyrics that are just beyond sincere comprise this album that dares to tackle the bridge between Sister Machine Gun and tech-metal.
- J-Sin
Various Artists — Fabriksampler Vol. 1 Buy it at Amazon
A rather interesting electronica sampler, “Fabriksampler 1” coasts through the entire range of electronic music spectrum. Minimalist movements include songs by Catartech while psychedelic landscapes of the ironically named Psychedelic Desert also are paved. Mo Shang is the Taiwanese sonic knob twiddler whose music I’ve heard before, and whom I’ve come to like quite a bit. Wodan likes everything from death metal to hip-hop to Irish folk to breaks and shows it off quite nicely. An intriguing listen with a little bit of something, for everyone.
- J-Sin
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