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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Skinny Puppy - Mythmaker
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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
Lesbians On Ecstasy — We Know You Know Buy it at Amazon
I’m fairly certain every living man has had a dream of finding some Lesbians high on ecstasy. But beside the pants soaking sassiness you have yourself one hell of a house dance pop group. Lesbians on Ecstasy merge psychedelic soundscapes with cleansing rhythmic beats and electro synths for a sound purely their own. While you may not see this group alongside the Indigo Girls at the next Lilith Fair, you should be seeing them on several indie tours. Forget Lords of Acid, this is the shit!
- J-Sin
The Qualia — Nevada's Greatest! Buy it at Amazon
Electronic pop that dances around electro-clash and krautrock with vocals straight from Michael Stipe’s efforts. The Qualia never tires out as they race to the finish already holding a trophy as the second coming of Fischerspooner. Talented and complicated textures are painted over with a second and third coat of sonic paint that produces a thick layer of synths, guitars, vocals, and beats. Lyrically it’s serious as it tackles prolific topics in the political and social arenas yet also explores robotic cowboys.
- J-Sin
Pedaltone — Pedaltone Buy it at Amazon
British guitarists Bernhard Wagner and Michael Bearpark join forces to collaborate on this loop-based album. Minimalism is center focus here with an ear for rhythmic textures and sonically soaring noises forging an out-of-body experience. Almost New Age in the sense that this is a very spiritual uplifting meditative piece of music artwork, Pedaltone is taking looping to the next level.
- J-Sin
Bernhard Wagner — The Fourth Night Buy it at Amazon
Zurich is the home to ambient minimalist Bernhard Wagner. “The Fourth Night” shudders with dancing vocals and slivered loops of electronic ambience. Future pop mastheads should be flown in honor of this great achievement. Light guitars speckle the often dripping wet synth pads to give it an airy and spacious palette.
- J-Sin
Volvoe — Organized Faults Buy it at Amazon
Danish electro-clash band Volvoe once again mines the late ‘80’s and early ‘90s club punk roots for influence on their new “Organized Faults”. A huge step ahead of all of the faker groups that the mainstream goes head over heels for, Volvoe manages to turn in a set of catchy tunes that are fit for dancefloors in living rooms as well as high brow lounge clubs. Power-pop chords dominate while the synths pop and weave throughout the flow of the rhythms. The title track boasts one hell of an amazing guitar solo that is looped to create tension and builds up to the eventual fade-out. Staggering!
- J-Sin
Life Toward Twilight — I Swear By All the Flowers Buy it at Amazon
Detroit is Motor City as Life Toward Twilight is dark neo-classical ambient. This simile holds true with this latest venture down Instrumental Lane. Cleverly capturing noise and manipulating it with minimalist soundscapes, Life Toward Twilight structures their sound against chaos but produces quite organic structured noise. This is like a real scary version of Dead Can Dance mixed with Merzbow.
- J-Sin
Vestigial — Aeon Buy it at Amazon
It’s amazing how densely packed a 3” CD-EP can be. Italy’s dark ambient project Vestigial propels you into an insane abyss filled with nightmarish soundscapes and experimental bliss. Tweaked out drones domineer the mix as odd samples float in and out. Caustic distorted aural fluctuations madden you and cause you panic. This is intense—I only wish that I could have this intensity for longer than 20 some-odd minutes.
- J-Sin
Nymph — Geek Pop Star Buy it at Amazon
Dance pop that isn’t afraid to tackle difficult genres like jazz and jungle as well as electronica and club. Throbbing beats pulse with Nymph’s sweet and sugary vocals well in hand. Definitely a very different electronic dance album, “Geek Pop Star” boils over with exciting rhythms and Bjork-esque enigmas.
- J-Sin
Various Artists — Regress Classics Part 1 Buy it at Amazon
Regress Records has been a record label that is aligned perfectly with the club scene. Producing classics time after time, but often only 12” vinyl, Regress Records was finally pressed into putting together this double disc album of some of those previously unavailable on CD tunes. Tons of big underground names including the more mainstream kid Jimmy Van M (his “Bedrock” double disc was widely circulated among critics as the perfect definition of deep progressive) as well as legends in the club world like NEMA, Mavi, and Flatline. Big club tunes that fit into the tribal, progressive, and house circuits.
- J-Sin
Teleseen — War Buy it at Amazon
Teleseen is a multi-instrumentalist and producer whose dub soundscapes are brimming with bubbly bass and textures of IDM. Rhythmic abstract dub is boosted with dense electronica and patterns similar to old school Detroit style techno. While still focused on roots reggae to some degree, “War” is digital dub that traverses the sound of PlateaU. Minimalism at its very finest and deep.
- J-Sin
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