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Member Since: Oct 13, 2004 Rank: 123 Average Vote Received: Correct (4.00, 6 votes) Rated 78 releases, average: 4.03 Location: Cologne/Germany | |
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99.5% positive
(215 ratings)
Buyer Rating:
100.0% positive
(14 ratings)
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Musickwreckers, The* - Mission Mass Media - 24-Jun-08 08:16 AM
Here it is, the debut fullength of the artist formerly known as Thorofon - and listening to this, the name change actually does make sense. While early Thorofon was rightout Power Electronics with the usual screaming job going on, the later releases showed an increasing use of angst pop structures and a development from "tracks" to "songs". This evolutionary mission seems now completed...
In a way, this sounds like the male companion to the music released by Geneviève Pasquier, which in fact, it really is. Both dig deep into the consciousness of industrial culture, with Geneviève Pasquier resounding the Cosey Fanni Tutti moments of TG or early Chris & Cosey and the Musick Wreckers now representing the song-structured male aspects of that band/era.
Unfortunately, to my taste, this is a picture vinyl, which renders it useless for DJ purposes, but the sound quality is still fine as is the production.
Nevertheless, from a release that deeply old school/retro, do not expect too much innovation, but 11 tracks of rock solid quality entertainment.
Rorschach Garden, The - Transfer - 22-May-08 08:14 AM
Before I start singing the praise about this album, which is only the 4th regular full length in a band history of 20 years now, I do admit my personal connection to the people who are TRG, but then: If you disagree, write a review yourself and make your own point…
TRANSFER is a true recommendation with it’s collection of songs that radiate a warm band feel and it’s diverse melodies and hooks, all crisply produced for maximum listening satisfaction. Yes, the TRG sound does (still) have strong 80s connections, and that is because the band use original analogue synths a lot, but the production is digitally enhanced and quite up to date. You won’t find preset sounds or any other weaknesses on here, this is true electronic craftsmanship. Some comparisons crop up while listening – the singing hints at Bernard Sumner of New Order in places (Play Games, Let The Information Flow) and the latter plays with the OMD Enola Gay pattern a bit, A Lost Love and Nature's Last Announcement bring to mind the darker days of Depeche Mode maybe. But that’s where you see the strength of TRG: While you can maybe make out those references, they are never obvious or superficial, and they’re definitely not ever in danger of being perceived as another DM-clone.
While the majority of songs on TRANSFER are full-bodied pop songs with strong hum-along melodies, there are also some worthwhile distractions, like the indie-dance-flavoured opener, the three instrumental pieces (Interference, Night Train and the Epilogue), the industrial-tinged A Lost Love or the (one and only) minimal electro of Less Vast.
So let’s ask the question, who will actually like (and maybe even buy, though this is out of fashion nowadays) this kind of music? Certainly not the minimal electro scene they used to be filed into for a while, for they have definitely outgrown the ANALogue dogma and lo-fi fixation for good. Neither very interested seems to be the highly commercialized Goth scene, fed on their diet of ghoulish poser bands who actually play schlager music tuned a few octaves; even though TRG for some reason feature regularly on scene-related compilations and play their few live appearances in that scene’s surroundings.
No, the audience for TRG are adults with a taste for quality music and an individual pedigree in independent music AND pop music that goes beyond commercial ambitions, people who grew up on 80s music, don’t fear the experimental and nowadays still have a heart for the likes of JUNIOR BOYS. Speaking of them: If any record company should ever pick up TRG for more exposed marketing (as I believe they bloody well should), those would be my recommendation for doing remixes. More than half the songs on TRANSFER would be a good choice for outtakes, and as all the elements lie crystal clear in the mix, a perfect playground for skilled remixing.
But then, pop business is the way it is, and so it might remain the privilege of the connoisseurs to enjoy this CD!
Mandelbrot - Thorns - 16-Feb-08 07:48 AM
This is quite a departure from the soothing, crystaline soundscapes of it's predecessor "Auf Tauchfahrt" - instead, THORNS is constantly grating the eardrums with shifting tonalities, ever changing mock-rhythm-patterns and loads of clinks and clonks. Nevertheless, the tracks are concise and the rigid structure makes the "hard" sounds surprisingly accessible.
Such music is individually perceived in different ways by nature, but to me THORNS is neither Dark nor Ambient, but surreal, queer and very exciting, standing quite on it's own within the genre and avoiding all it's cliches.
If I was into taking drugs to music, I would probably go for acid instead of barbs for this one...
Junior Boys - 13-Dec-07 04:20 AM
A real class band to discover, their synth pop tunes are devoid of cliche and contain grooves and twists not often heard in the genre. Not a bastard crossover though you can hear Electronica, Cinematic and Dance influences, all executed with high quality production, a glistening blend of analogue and digital composing. And what does make a band special and stand out among the crowd? Right, a trademark sound, and that is definitely present with only two albums released so far. I sure hope lots will follow!
Autopsia - 26-Sep-07 11:05 AM
Autopsia can rightfully be called a pioneer of Dark Industrial. BUT: I would only back that for the releases that came out until 1992, which were mostly dark, eerie, ritual and positively lo-fi. These releases helped shape my understanding of music and made for contemplative listening. Everything from then on has much more of a compository, ersatz-neoclassical structure and fails to attract me in any way. I hope he still finds an audience, but Autopsia has always been shrouded in obscurity, so who can tell?
