The Grid - Electric Head

EastWest: 1990

Tale as old as time: two guys meet while working with a legend of their scene (in this case, Psychic TV), decide they have enough creative synergy to do something on their own, and proceed to craft a bunch of tunes influenced by their contemporary clime'. That it would eventually lead to kicking off the 'country twang house' movement of the '90s is something I'm sure no one could have conceived, but I've already covered that bit of history in my review of Evolver.

And to be fair, it's not like Dave Ball was some unknown entity when he lent his talents to the Genesis P-Orridge project, having come off a successful run as the music-man behind Soft Cell. Getting in on that UK acid house scene was inevitable, but finding a kindred spirit in Richard Norris likely helped get things rolling much smoother than most post new-wave efforts often yielded.

However, sometimes you hit the studio with too many ideas sloshing about your brainpan, anxious to get them all out without any clear focus in how to make them all connect. Electric Head certainly doesn't hold back in offering a little something of everything you might hear wandering in a daze through the second Summer Of Love, but I'm not surprised this album doesn't get name-dropped that often when talk of that era comes up. Floatation, yes, absolutely, a definitive staple in the burgeoning afterhours chill-out scene. The plunderphonic-hop of Are You Receiving though? Or the woozy house of Driving Instructor? Or the hi-NRG antics of A Beat Called Love? Or the dopey EBM of Doctor Celine? The Pet Shop Boys aping This Must Be Heaven? Not so much, I wager. That Intergalactica though, I can't see anyone having much trouble working that into a Moroder inspired set. You might even throw folks for a loop after revealing it was made by the same chaps as Texas Cowboy.

That about sums it up though, doesn't it? The classic albums of electronic music from the early '90s are typically deemed as such because they were trend setters, defining genres in their infancy. While The Grid were certainly capable song writers and clever studio producers right out the gate, there really isn't much on Electric Head that you couldn't hear elsewhere. I guess that's why they made this more of an album experience, linking everything with interstitial sonic doodles and field recordings, which does help. Makes it feel like you're taking a sampling of what you might hear surfing the radio waves of the UK at the time. The spaced-out acid house of opener One Giant Step not doing it for you, so you switch the station, and oh, here's some sampledelic electro in Islamotron. But I want to hear something reminding me of that trip to Ibiza. Like all the clubby tunes? No, no, I've heard plenty of that already. I mean the comedown part.

Yeah, small wonder lead single Floatation got placed at the end of the album.

New Order - Complete Music

Mute: 2016

I made a bold claim in declaring this 'remix' album New Order's best body of work outside of 'Best Of' packages, and now I get to show my receipts. Actually, no, I don't think I can, at least without bringing up the context that led to the album this sprung from, Music Complete. And that would eat up way too much word count that I'd rather spend detailing the tunes here. Besides, as my purchase of Complete Music included a free download of Music Complete, it'll at least leave me something to ramble on about whenever I get around to that record.

And the honest truth is, had my 'Surveying' stipulation not forced me to check out Complete Music, I may not have in the first place (or much of New Order in general, but stick with me). Yeah, there's been some ace remixes handed out to New Order's catalogue over the decades, but this was an entirely in-house project, simply taking the existing songs and extending them for maximum dancefloor efficiency. Hey, that's great, as I already liked the clubby nature of the originals, so more of that isn't so bad. A little more rhythmic intro here, a lengthier bridge there, and holy cow, these seven-to-nine minute versions are just so much better! I don't think I can even go back to the Music Complete variants, coming off like radio edits now. It almost makes me wonder if these were the finished songs, but in realizing it'd balloon the album to double-LP length, were forced to pare things down for commercial interests, rendering Complete Music to 'Director's Cut' side-project status. Probably not, but it's a fun notion if so.

So Restless comes in with all those peppy rhythms, hooky guitars (but no Peter Hook, he gone), emotional string swells, and synthy punctuations. And then, some two minutes in, Bernard comes in, and if this track hasn't fully won you over, then I don't know how you've been a New Order fan. Right, it's not Blue Monday, but hardly anything else in their catalogue is.

This is the sound of a band that's been through it all, having the skill to incorporate all their learned influences, and still find room to add some (then) contemporary tricks. A festival-ready breakdown in Singularity. A festival-ready build in Unlearn This Hatred. A little d'n'b momentum in Stray Dog (complete with a gravely Iggy Pop) and Superheated, and so on. Nor have they side-stepped other eras of their career, like the NRG pulse of Plastic or synth-pop campiness of Tutti Frutti (a song I dreaded going in based on title alone, winning me over regardless), both vintage '80s without sounding canned or retro-trendy. Or jubilant '90s funky piano house vibes of People On The High Line. Or the '00s indie rock janglyness of Nothing But A Fool and The Game. It's a little bit of everything you know of New Order and then some.

And then performed extra length, just because they can!

Pet Shop Boys - Very

Parlaphone: 1993

All statistics point towards this being the Pet Shop Boys album you're supposed to have, even if you're not a Pet Shop Boys fan. It certainly charted better than any other record in their catalogue, and is critically lauded as the duo's proper coming out party, where the somewhat coy, side-glancing nods to gay culture were finally put front and centre. More so, when Muzik Magazine was ranking their choices for the Top 50 dance albums, this was the PSB album they chose. Now, some of that may have been immediacy bias, the house and ravey remixes definitely a step up compared to the duo's '80s output, but regardless, if I can't trust Muzik Magazine's opinion on something, who can I trust?

Still, ask a regular layman to namedrop a song off here, chances are you'll get met with a blank. Folks know West End Girls, Always On My Mind, and (probably) It's A Sin, if for no other reason than their never-ending retro radio airplay. Nothing of the sort emerged from Very. Its singles did reasonably fine, with Go West - the big anthem that's so audacious, it features what sounds like the sailors from Cher's If I Could Turn Back Time video singing the chorus – doing the most damage. That darn radio play again factors in though, or rather the lack of it in the ensuing years in this case. '90s Pet Shop Boys just doesn't have the lasting cultural cache as '80s Pet Shop Boys does.

Anyhow, some may recall I started this PSB journey with the intent of very slowly going through their discography in chronological order, but have clearly skipped Behaviour. Yeah, well, that one's rep' hasn't sparked my interest quite like Very's, plus I saw this CD among a Discogs seller. I've been itching to hear this proper-like for a while, as those earworms heard on Disco 2 surely sound just as good in their original context. So nuts to orderly convention, let's get to the good shit.

The only criticism I can levy upon Very is the production doesn't quite hold up, its early '90s-ness clear and apparent. Not that that's ever been a real problem for PSB before, but there was always a sense they were riding the trends in their early work. Here, they haven't quite caught up to where synth-pop and dance music had progressed in such rapid time, which was just how things went that decade regardless. Hot today, outdated tomorrow. If anything, it's remarkable they were still able to hold their own when so many of their contemporaries had been left in the dust.

Beyond that though, this is very much Pet Shop Boys being as joyful and jubilant as they ever been. Even when topics fall into bittersweet break-ups ('natch), there's just a sense of freedom and release in it all. Very may not have their most iconic songs, but it feels like a proper cap on their first decade of music making.

Gorillaz - Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez (Proper Review)

Parlaphone: 2020

Strange days indeed. The global pandemic almost may have benefited the Gorillaz project, at least with regards to the Song Machine cycle. Being forced to strip back all the indulgent studio time and guest collaborators made this album a far leaner outing than the bloated Humanz. Even better, with no pressure to go on tour in support of a new record in the foreseeable future, Damon and Jamie could primarily focus on other multi-media aspects of the band, in particular music video and animations.

Because let's face it: for as much as we enjoy Gorillaz music, it's the videos and such that truly grab our imagination. Trouble is animation is expensive, and with more money being allotted for studio production and tours, this aspect of the project sometimes gets shuffled to the side-line. Again, just look at the Humanz roll-out for proof, only one video of significant note released in support of that record.

In treating Song Machine as an episodic venture, however, you were basically guaranteed a video with each song this time out. Whether an elaborate 'lore' builder with The Lost Chord, a simple loop session with Aries, or 'Roger Rabbit'ing their way about Kong Studio with guest musicians (Momentary Bliss, Pac-Man), it definitely felt like you were getting your dollar's worth. Oh, wait, watching the vids was free on YouTube. Erm, I mean, it definitely felt like you were getting rewarded for sticking with this fickle project even during the less-than-great times.

And even with all that, holy Hell, but does Song Machine ever come loaded with ear-worms! You could always count on a number of them per album, but even the best Gorillaz records will have a few tunes that could be left aside. Not so here, every song a winner. Well, okay, I could maybe leave Friday 13th off, but that's more because I'm not much a fan of mumble rappers, and Octavian doesn't do much to convince me otherwise. At least The Pink Phantom has Elton John's big, boisterous voice on hand to counter 6LACK's mumbling. Everything else though – from rowdy rockers (Strange Timez, Momentary Bliss, The Valley Of The Pagans) to electro boppers (Pac-Man) to soulful poppers (The Lost Chord, Désolé, Dead Butterflies), and all else between, Song Machine's got all you could want from a Gorillaz album.

It's funny though, because there's a hint Song Machine could have had some of the same issues as Humanz. The bonus disc includes half a dozen nifty tunes, mostly on the hip-hop side of things, but definitely don't quite fit the vibe of the main album. Which is how bonus tracks should be treated, the b-sides that are here for your enjoyment without sullying the flow of the main feature. Somehow though, I sense had this been Humanz-era Gorillaz, they would have tried to force them in, once again bloating an album beyond what was necessary. Song Machine is perfectly paced at its eleven tracks, once again showing smart restraint in the final product.

Gorillaz - Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez (Kayfabe Review)

Parlaphone: 2020

Last time I talked up Gorillaz, I lamented we'd never seen a truly collaborative effort from this group. Yeah, they've all been present for a number of albums (their self-titled debut, Demon Days ...Humanz, if only barely), but generally speaking, one or two members are the driving force behind a given record, leaving the others to simply contribute their requisite parts in support. No, what I wanted to hear is a Gorillaz album where everyone - 2-D, Noodle, Russel, and yes, Murdoc – all have equal share in the writing process. Given the chaotic nature of this band, it seemed it'd take nothing less than an Act Of God for such a thing to happen. Or, in a pinch, a global pandemic.

Details are hazy what the initial ideas for Song Machine were going to be – something to do with a music device Noodle acquired. Regardless, the lockdowns in the following year essentially isolated the band within the new Kong Studio. Never mind their corporeal nature likely wouldn't be an issue in dealing with meat-space viruses, they stood in solidarity with society at large.

With nothing better to do than hang out together making music, that's basically all they did. No ideas for a specific album concept or contractual obligation, just jam away and see what sprung forth in a given session. That isn't to say some didn't have other things on their mind while holed up at Kong – you just know Murdoc would look for any opportunity to get out of house, especially having just gotten out of prison the previous year. Overall though, Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez is possibly the band's most satisfying album in... gosh, a decade? However long it's been since Plastic Beach, at least.

Again, it's all about bringing every member's influences and interests under one big tent. Gorillaz have always been adventurous in their genre fusions, but you can generally tell who's doing the most production in a given project. 2-D likes his electro pop, Russel likes his American hip-hop, house, and soul, Noodle likes her esoteric indulgences, while Murdoc likes his punk and bass-driven rock. Indeed, there are songs on here you can tell who's influence is felt. Peter Hook on Aries? Oh, that's gotta' be a Murdoc get. ScHoolboy Q on Pac-Man? Russel, absolutely. Beck on The Valley Of The Pagans? Seems like the sort of musician Noodle would have on dial. And of course Elton John and Stuart Pot have talked collab' at some point.

Yet as mentioned, no one song feels like someone's taking a back seat in the writing process, everyone part and parcel in some way. Maybe that's why, for the first time in Gorillaz history, the album's unofficial song-writing credits goes to 'Gorillaz'.

According to lore, Murdoc and Russel did Humanz and the self-titled, Noodle did Demon Days, Mr. Niccals did Plastic Beach, while 2-D did The Fall and The Now Now. Song Machine though? Everyone! And it's all the greater for it.

Sykonee's 'Sportsing' Surveys: NEW ORDER

I'm almost embarrassed that I've never really dug that deep into this band's discography. Obviously I knew a handful of hits, especially when the '80s revival was in full swing at the turn of the century. Yet the first time I actually ever heard Blue Monday was when Tom Middleton mashed it with Tiga & Zyntherus' Sunglasses At Night. Other tunes I heard here and there, but probably didn't connect them to New Order because, far as I knew, they only ever sounded one way or another. I honestly didn't realize just how much rock was in their synth-pop, even with the knowledge that they formed out of the ashes of Joy Division.

How can I be so ignorant of one of the most important bands in club culture's history, especially so in the U.K., what with their ownership of The Haçienda, one of the most important nightclubs responsible for nurturing rave's formative years. No, this simply wont do. I need to expand my knowledge of this band, learn about all their musics beyond a few radio hits and a pumpin' acid techno remix.

Eh? You say I'm doing this just because there's that documentary about them coming out? No, no, I decided upon this survey before I even learned about that. I swear it's the truth, I tells ya'! Anyhow, let's get on it:






















I have to admit, I'm astounded New Order had the rebound it did so late in their career, even with Peter Hook gone. Or maybe he was holding them back for a while there? Who knows, I certainly don't want to dwell on band politics. If for whatever reason you haven't kept tabs, figuring there's no way New Order could recapture their '80s glory, I highly recommend at least giving Music Complete (or even Complete Music!) at least a stream. Hell, I may pick that one up proper-like for a proper review on it down the line.

As for my next survey... I'm not entirely sure who I'll do next. There's plenty I've in mind for consideration, just haven't figured out who I want to tackle first. Maybe I should do a poll on Mastodon?

Various - Choose 80's

Mercury: 1997

At first glance, this appears nothing more than what it is, another compilation capitalizing on '80s revival from the turn of the century. I certainly thought so, or at least was my recollection of it when I got it from a co-worker's bundle of CDs. For sure I remember it as an item in the little music shop I worked at for a time, and maybe even saw a TV ad on the national music station. Still, something kinda' tugged at me about Choose 80's, like I was forgetting a couple quirky details about it that would reveal themselves when I finally (finally!) reviewed it proper-like.

For instance, this CD actually pre-dates the '80s revival by a few years. Yeah, 1997 may not seem that for removed from the year 2000, but trust me, resurrecting the decade of new wave and synth-pop was furthest from the minds of most label heads. They undoubtedly had a potential retro market in mind at some point in the future, but were making far too much jack from way '90s music like alt-rock, club thug rap, R&B, and 'electronica' to pull the trigger. There wasn't much nostalgic interest in '80s music from Johnny and Jane Q Public yet, so little need to dust anything off in a label's archives.

Yet something encouraged Mercury to go forward with this compilation just the same. For the longest time, I couldn't recall why – it certainly wasn't because they were ahead of the retro curve. No, something else, something that had to be buzzing in pop culture that would send casual consumers en masse to buy a copy. Was it that Da Da Da track from Trio? There was a charming Jetta commercial that used it, the sort of thing that would get people rushing to a music store asking about “that song in that car commercial” (known as the Mitsubishi Effect in later years). What year did that come out anyway? Well by jove, 1997. Yep, that's all it would take for a compilation like this to hit the shelves. Just get a bunch of other '80s hits from the Mercury/Polytel archives, and voila, capitalization on a hit commercial. It's how we memed back in the '90s.

That solved, what's even on Choose 80's that's worth talking about? Lots of familiar names with familiar tunes (Yello, New Order, The Buggles), others digging a little deeper into discographies (Tears For Fears, Iggy Pop, R.E.M.). Post-punk and new wavers get a lot of representation, some I've heard of (Violent Femmes, The Jam, ABC), some I only know by ear (Shriekback, Level 42, Split Enz, Black (2)). One song I never realized came from the '80s is Squeeze's Pulling Mussels, sounding like a '90s alt-rock jangle that'd be featured in a third-rate sitcom.

One final oddity before the wrap. Choose 80's is fine for a nineteen-track collection of adventurous new wave and quirky synth-pop, but does it ever reek of sausage too. It's like women musicians never existed that decade.

Dynatron - The Legacy Collection Vol II

Blood Music: 2016/2019

A slight correction on the previous Dynatron Legacy Collection: these compilations just recently saw hard copy editions released, digital versions first appearing in 2016. That would explain why it took me so long to actually pick these up, what with holding out for CD options and all. I'm not sure what surprises me more, that it took Blood Music three years to make said CDs and vinyl, or that it's taken me two additional years to actually review them.

Okay, probably the former. You'd think the label would have wanted to capitalize on the trendy interest in all things synthwave while it was still hot. Were the pressing plants booked so far in advance for up-front material, that poor Dynatron was simply shuffled that far down the queue? Or maybe they were trying to time it such that a pair of re-issue compilations would drum up interest in the artist's return? Sadly, the former still seems more likely. It's been two years and still but a single EP from Dynatron.

Anyhow, The Legacy Collection Vol. II rounds up all of Jeppe Hasseriis' wayward compilation material for a tidy nine-tracker. Which honestly isn't that much music, making me wonder why this wasn't just lumped in with the first Legacy Collection as a double-LP. If there's enough interest to buy two separate volumes, surely there's just as much interest in buying the same amount in one package? Maybe so, but when regular pressing plant time already comes at a premium, can you imagine trying to get a double-LP pressed? Just ain't worth it, mang!

Still, I was interested enough in this material to spring for it. After all, it includes the track that first got me intrigued by Dynatron, Jovian Giants, as appeared on the digital-only Aphasia Records compilation Artificial Afterlife. Surely the rest would be just as dope! Well, the other Aphasia item that opens this CD up, Stars Of The Night from Futura Compilation, is nice enough. Doesn't quite hit with the same cosmic adventure other Dyantron tunes do, but maybe this was meant to be a stargazing tune.

Can't say I was as keen on follow-up Dust Of The Saturn, which already hurts my grammatical senses. This one comes from The 80s Dream Compilation Tape – Volume 2 on NewRetroWave (not actually released on tape), and if this tune's anything to go by, taps into the cheesier synth-pop vein of synthwave – too retro, not enough future. I kinda' want to say the same for Out Of The Center, but because this came out on a compilation called PLUTO: a synth odyssey from the non-N.A.S.A. affiliated New Horizons Records, I just can't hate on it. The little planetoid got dumped on enough by the 'proper' planet community, it needs all the love it can get!

There's some okay stuff after, including a few tunes with guitar action, but far from Dynatron's best work. Guess he saved his choice material for the albums.

Various - fabric 43: Metro Area

Fabric: 2008

*cover art care of fabric's “clay models on black” period*

It's been a lo-o-o-ong while since I last indulged Fabric mixes on the cheap. Too many of them resulted in minimal tech-house sets at its insufferably driest, but I've been feeling a bit nostalgic for those random chances. Plus, the series lasted well beyond that era, many changing tides of taste emerging since. Surely there's been a few in more recent years that have sunk to super-affordable prices.

Indeed there are, but I'll get to those later, for we're still in Fabric's 'early years' in this outing with Metro Area. This is actually a rather odd entry, the duo almost finished by the time this came out. Their breakout was half a decade old, and while folks had some fondness for their nu-disco jams, it didn't really spearhead a massive resurgence, clubland more enamoured by sample pilfering and filter-funkifying than anything authentic sounding. Thus Metro Area erroneously got lumped in with the 'electroclash' kids (because retro?), but despite DFA's approval, not quite fitting in with the disco punk crowds either. You could count on a track of theirs appearing on a stripped-back disco funk set, but sadly, Metro Area basically disbanded before the disco-edits scene would have made them super-stars.

Which is why seeing a Fabric mix from them in 2008 is so odd, the peak of their popularity well in the rear-view, but too soon for a nostalgic reminder. Was it because member Morgan Geist was set to release a long-awaited solo album around this time? I don't doubt it for a minute.

fabric 43 is wonderful though, in that it's a total love-letter to the music that influenced much of Metro Area's sound: the b-sides, dubs, and instrumentals of disco, funk, and garage of the early '80s. They dug deep for the unheralded, the unknown, and the unexpected. Like the Dub Mix of Ministry's Work For Love (yes, that Ministry). Or the dope bassline in Play By Number's Cloud Nine. Or the funky electro of Midway's Set It Out. Or the wiki-wiki guitar licks of Wiretap's X-Rated Man. Or the electro-pop perfection of Première Classe's Poupée Flash. Seriously, is there any music Belgian's don't excel at?

This mix is a retro trainspotter's wet dream, and Metro Area beef the production enough so things sound about as modern is they possibly could, but some outdated things simply can't be hidden. Like, good God, are the synth tones, few and far as they are, ever out of tune. They even rib on them a little in the intro, fully aware that even if the rhythms are dope, brace yourself for some woeful 'horn' sounds. Also, as we are in the early '80s, there are occasional ropy drums on display. Our guiding duo generally highlight the best parts of a given track, mixing out quickly, but you can still hear clunky echo effects here and there.

Hardly deal breakers though, fabric 43 definitely worth the pennies I paid for it.

Various - fabric 11: Swayzak

Fabric: 2003

When last I talked up Swayzak on this here bloggity-bloog of mine, I made passing wonderment over how their fabric mix sounded. In fact, I wanted to start a proper dive into their discography, and figured rounding up the rest of their DJ mixes would make for a good start. Um, this is about it. Yeah, Misters Brown and Taylor weren't really all that interested in the commercial mix CD market, and judging how their two primary outings fare, it's not hard to hear why: they just can't be fussed with the technical aspects of DJing.

For sure they can do all the blending and syncing and balancing if they want to - Groovetechnology V1.3 had plenty of sublime minimalist mixing going on. Sometimes though, a tune deserves to be played out in full, with a transition into something so different it defies anything other than a crossfade, so long as the music remains thematically consistent. Such is the domain of the mixtapes and third room 'chill' zones, of which Swayzak was quite familiar with in the early '00s.

Not that the fabric brand hadn't shown wilful genre hopping in the past, though that was more the purview of the Fabriclive offshoot. The mainline series generally stuck things out with tech-house in its early years, with occasional dalliances into deep house, electro or techno. Swayzak's offering was the first time fabric really stretched beyond such narrow confines, bringing in micro-house, disco punk, reggae dub, and even proto-fidget under one mix. Which probably isn't that big a deal, since we're still quite early in the series' lifespan, and couldn't ignore Fabriclive's eclecticism for long.

Cheekily, Swayzak open things up with a little Negativland, with the cheeky sampling of a doomsday cult rattling off all the evil rock bands of the era (which Fatboy Slim cheekily nicked himself). Michael Jackson, Tina Turner, Prince, Madonna, Billy Idol, Neil Young, David Bowie, Queen, Adam Ant, Billy Joel, The Police, Huey Lewis, “Weird” Al, and many more... heathens, all!

From there, fabric 11 carries on about as you'd expect of a Swayzak set from this era, chaps like Luomo, Mathew Jonson, and Akufen making the rounds. Midway though, things take a turn for the mixtapey, Röyksopp's slinky, dreamy rub on Felix da Housecat's What Does It Feel Like? played out in full. Then it's a crossfade to Rockers Hi-Fi's Push Push (yay!), blending into... Hey, Ciccone Youth! I recognize that name! Anyhow, here's LCD Soundsystem's homage to aging hipsterism, Losing My Edge, played in full.

Things kinda' jump all over the place afterwards, with sorta-electro (MMM's Donna), sorta disco punk (DFA's rub on Metro Area's Orange Alert), sorta-actually '80s synth-pop (Thomas Dolby's One Of Our Submarines), finally finishing off with ultra-twee bell-house from März. Pantha Du Prince likely heard this. They're fine tunes, but I can't deny hoping for something more consistent for a finish. Hard to top Losing My Edge though. Set peaked too soon!

Perturbator - B-Sides And Remixes, Vol. I

Blood Music: 2018

I should have gotten this other collection of Perturbator remixes and b-sides. Only reason I initially bought Vol. II over Vol. I was because I liked Vol. II's cover art more. If Blood Music is going to keep having sales though, there's no excuse in not completing the set. So here's B-Sides And Remixes, Vol. I, with... I assume is Perturbator's Night Driving Avenger companion? Side-kick? Or possibly nemesis? I'm not sure where she fits in the greater Perturbator lore, all the associated artwork having our motorcycle riding, black leather clad, boss helmet-wearing protagonist out night-avenging solo. Gosh, might she even be a cyborg? She does have a mannequin look about her, but what are those tendrils writhing up her arm and thigh? There's so much wicked-cool possibilities one could glean from this art, but we'll get no answers in this compilation. Unless Dead Astronauts somehow figure into the greater Perturbator darksynth universe. It wouldn't surprise if Gost does.

Anyhow, if you recall my review of B-Sides And Remixes, Vol. II, you may remember I spent more time talking about James Kent's tour than any of the music on that release. I suppose it's because there just wasn't much to say, about as typical a collection of b-sides and rarities as you'd expect to hear from a synthwave super-star. What I neglected to mention was beyond the video game and horror movie rubs, there weren't any actual remixes on that edition, all of them featured on the first volume.

Despite having a full LP's worth of remixes here, Kent hadn't lent his talents out that often. Four of the ten tracks available come from the Dead Astronauts' self-titled EP, where Perturbator did his own stylistic alternate versions on each tune. Probably the most interesting of these is In Disguise, where the original is standard synthwavey synth-pop, while James turns it into a cinematic beatless affair, befitting a grand opening credits scene. Unhappy Woman and These Bones up the tempo more, but B-Side slows the rhythm way down, almost getting into New Beat territory.

These tracks are all well and good, presenting a Perturbator before he really broke out, but I'm sure you're here to hear more of those gnarly dark synths and thrashy outrun beats. Good news then, as the next batch of remixes covers the whole lot! Can't say I'm familiar with many of them – only Mega Drive rings a bell – but who cares when it's got all the Perturbator sounds you've come for? Sorry, Reznyck and Dizkodeath, even the James Kent rub wasn't enough of a bump for your careers. And who is “Slick Moranis”? Lord Discogs lists this Pertubator remix as their lone appearance. Maybe a downtempo synth-pop alias for James to indulge in? It's sure unlike anything else in his repertoire.

James' go with Gost's Behomoth ends things off, which is fine, but now I want to hear that Dance With The Dead rub on Reign In Hell again. Devil horns to the moon!

Kriistal Ann - Touched On The Raw

Wave Records: 2018

When I first discovered Kriistal Ann during my Werkstatt Recordings splurge, I sensed a musician on the rise, a talent that would grow into a force to be reckoned with in a larger darkwave scene. Indeed, she'd just come out with this particular album, with a suitable amount of Bandcamp hype behind it. Wave Records was even springing for a limited vinyl roll-out, no small thing unless you happened upon Blood Music. Which she kind of did, via a guest spot on a GosT album. Anyhow, that all seems like a moot point, as she hasn't released any solo work since Touched On The Raw, instead reconvening with Toxik Razor for another Paradox Obscur album. And while I know it hasn't been that long since this album came out, two years does feel like an eternity these days, unlike the rest of the zippy '10s where two years breezed on by.

Kriistal wasn't entirely inactive during the period between Cultural Bleeding and Touched On The Raw, also releasing the collaborative album Muse with fellow Werkstatt alum Aidan Casserly. That one was much different that the cold, ethereal synthwave music she'd been making to that point, a surprising outing of beatnik jazz and occasional operatic dalliances. Extremely arty stuff, is what I'm getting at, but helps provide something of a bridge linking Ms. Ann's last two solo albums. For the production on Touched On The Raw isn't nearly so rough as past records. Heck, there was already quite the leap from Refraction to Delirious Skies, as much as there was from Delirious Skies to Cultural Bleeding. Yet even as the production and songcraft improved, through it all was an unmistakable rawness, harsh synths and brittle rhythms always serving Kriistal's vocals.

I don't get that same feeling with Touched On The Raw, ironic given the album's title. Absolutely there's still the ethereal synth-pop and darkwave overtures, but everything sounds much cleaner and smooth. Machines running in perfect synchronicity instead of struggling to keep pace. Ghostly, rather than ghastly. Not to mention all the overt jazz influences about, ample amounts of saxophone and skittery rhythms meshing with wailing synths and moody pads. And gosh, the titular track could almost be neo-trance? It almost feels like a throwback hearing the brittle textures of Secret Shore, though the saxophone and ...chipmunk Japanese (?) vocals do remind you this is still post-Muse Kriistal we're dealing with here.

A couple bonus tracks round out the CD, a pair of remixes from Marcello Gallo. The second doesn't do much different with Talking To The Beast, basically beefing up the original's spare rhythms and ethereal elements while leaving the structure of the song the same. His go with Black Art was quite a surprise though. Whereas the original is the usual Kriistal Ann minimalist ethereal-wave outing, Mr. Gallo takes that and adds a bumpin' New Beat beat with a ridiculously addictive bassline. More of this in future albums from Ms. Ann, please! The jazzier stuff is okay too, I guess.

Solvent - Solvent City

Morr Music/Suction Records: 2001/2012

And so we come to the end of my Suction Records excursion. This... is the last, right? I won't have a Motech or Werkstatt situation where some unexpected record pops up that I totally forgot about? Let me check... Lowfish... RX-101... Skanfrom... Solvent... Yep, I'm pretty sure that's the four I picked up from the label's Bandcamp. No hidden or surprise albums from that bundle, nosiree.

Seems fitting I end this with a Solvent album. The man behind the moniker, Jason Amm, launched the label with Lowfish way back in the '90s, and relaunched it less way back in the '10s. Everything I've said regarding Suction Records can be tied to Solvent, so it's about time to actually dive a little deeper into his discography. And his is an interesting one, to say the least. Like most of the early Suction material, his first couple albums skewed closer to the realms of IDM than the electro he'd be more known for. His big break, if you want to call it that, came with signing on Ghostly International, where he shifted quite dramatically into 'don't call it electroclash' synth-pop. Well, that would certainly explain why Phase 1 of Suction Records petered out: its label runner was off gallivanting with that Ghostly hussy.

Still, comparing the leap from Solvently One Listens to Apples And Synthesizers is drastic, a feeling of something linking them between required. Solvent City is that link, and not just because it was released between the two. Okay, it is part of that, but you can definitely hear the bridge this album creates. The more IDM'y aspects of his older stuff has been sifted out, refining his music into its pure electro-pop essence here. It isn't must of a stretch to start adding a shinier production gloss and robo-singing for the Ghostly International crew.

As such, Solvent City comes off much simpler and quaint compared to its neighbouring albums. Is this why it ended up on Morr Music instead of Suction Records, tunes too off the expectant path of what folks wanted out of Solvent's label? Eh, that's neither here nor there, in that for such a young and relatively unknown print, I can't imagine it'd develop a hard-core, purist following. Mind, stranger, cultish behaviour has happened in the world of techno, even for labels based out of Toronto.

Anyhow, quaint electro-pop vibes permeate Solvent City. Aww, look at all these cute automatons going about daily activities like they're human. I easily imagine various simple animations playing out, drawn in the crude figurines as featured on the cover art, all doing things suitable for the titles. Buying some Frozen Food. Picking up a newspaper That Will Be 49 Cents. Testing out a Built-In Microphone. Looking over billboards, passing by ones that say Not For Sale. Rummaging through products to Sample And Hold. Wait, that's a Neil Young title! Holy cow, is this a cover of his utterly obscure slice of electro Rusty-rock? *listens* Mm, okay, maybe not.

Skanfrom - Postcards

Suction Records: 2014

Do androids dream electric sheep? Well, I dunno about that, you'd have to ask hardcore Bladerunner fans for a definitive answer. Let's assume they do though. By that token, do androids dream of electric sheep out on British pastoral hillsides? Why would they dream of something so specific? Aren't dreams just weird, jumbled recollections of what we've done, with an added dash of what we want? Why would an android 'want' to do something so frivolous as take in the countryside, when all they're meant to do is all that they're meant to do? Could we even program an A.I. to do something like go on vacation? Not just create an itinerary and send it on its way, but to actually lollygag at the scenery, get side-tracked by random novelty, and distracted by whimsical flights of fancy.

I don't know if such notions were on Skanfrom's mind when creating this album, but Postcards sure feels like I'm watching some twee robot go on a euro road trip. It's all in that Kraftwerkian electro-pop vibe permeating throughout the album (shades of Autobahn and Europe Endless), sightseeing across quaint countrysides. Yet there's also something melancholic and lonesome here, as though this experimental automaton doesn't know what to make of its puzzling programming to wander about English lands. To say nothing of all the strange looks its receiving from the homo sapien crowds. Oh, to be back in the comforting confines of controlled labs, not out in the open, constantly bombarded by sensory stimuli, with no firm directive other than “to go forth”. Humanity is so puzzling.

I should touch upon who Skanfrom is. One Roger Semsroth (occasionally Stephan Metzger), the Skanfrom project started out in the late '90s as the sort of Rephlex-inspired electro-IDM you'd expect of a scene rediscovering electro. Mostly releasing stuff on his own A.D.S.R. print, a tidy retrospective was put out on Suction Records in their early years, after which Roger mothballed the name to pursue a lucrative venture into the realm of techno records. Okay, I don't know about 'lucrative', but as Sleeparchive, he had a pretty successful run making proper minimal techno (not that plink-plonk stuff), even getting a few items out on Tresor. Sleeparchive remains Mr. Semsroth's primary project, but on occasion he's dusted the mothballs off of Skanfrom for an EP or two. When Suction Records relaunched, ol' Rog' provided them with a fresh Skanfrom album as well, being this here Postcards. *whew* I think that's all caught up.

As said, this album is all about that sentimental electro-pop as performed on simple electronics. The 'pastoral English vacation' is heavily implied with track titles like Trains And Lines, Perseids Over Greenwich, British Cottages and Degrees Of Frost (chilly mornings on the moors, I wager), while others are reflective of supposed feelings of unfeeling entities (I Am Not Feeling Well, Lost And Lonesome, Are You Alone?). Scattered about are numerical tracks like Seven (track six), Six (track ten) and Aught (track five). Does... not... compute...

ACE TRACKS: March-July 2020

So I have shingles.

At least it's not COVID-19, right? And I don't feel sick, just frequent hot spikes of pain around my shoulder-blade (imagine a heated cactus ball rolling about) as my latent chicken-pox virus does its damage to all those tender nerve membranes. And you may be thinking, “wait, Sykonee can't be that old such that he'd get shingles?”, and you'd be right. Yet here we are. I already knew all the stress I've put upon myself this year wasn't doing me many favours, but the fact it suppressed my immune system enough such that the ol' varicella-zoster could act up again should have me rethinking the way I'm doing things.

And what's 'funny' about all this is, until it flared up, I thought I was doing fine, life-wise. Yeah, there were still things and stuffs lingering in the back of my mind, but I still had a good groove about doing it. I can only hope my stubbornness hasn't done permanent damage because dear God, this would suck to have to deal with for the rest of my life. Or get myself in on that all-encompassing opiod market America is known for.

That all said, I realized it's been five months since I last did an ACE TRACKS playlist. Figured after all that time, I'd amassed enough of a backlog to make one. Little did I realize the final list would be over 10 hours long! Gander, at the ACE TRACKS from March through July:


Full track list here.


MISSING ALBUMS:
Various - Bedrock: Jimmy Van M
Various - Better Living Through Circuitry
Various - Beyond The Machines
Cryostasis - Between Static And Distance
Coma Eye - Insufflated Brine Shrimp
Astral Engineering - Chronoglide

Percentage Of Hip-Hop: 3%
Percentage Of Rock: 19%
Most “WTF?” Track: Neo-Adventures - Whaaaauuu (because “whaaaaaauuuuu TF?”)

Okay, so I cheated a little in the length, in that I included the entirety of L.S.G.'s The Singles: Reworked at the end. Plus some of the all-time longest recorded pieces of music by both Banco de Gaia and Creedence Clearwater Revival ever committed to master tapes (ten minutes of CCR may as well be a prog-rock opus).

Even with those caveats though, the fact this playlist ended up as long as it did just goes to show I've been busier than I gave myself credit for. And diverse too, a little something for anyone's interest making its way into here, providing a surprisingly smooth listening experience compared to many playlists past. Of course, if no one wants to listen to it, because it'll remind you of *gestures wildly*, I wouldn't blame ya'. Heck, maybe it's why I put off on doing this for so long in the first place. It's been a Hell of a five months, it has.

Oh, and some may have noticed I've skipped ahead on my reviewing order. The 'B' section of my collection is too big for one sitting, so decided to split that up while dealing with a pile of other items I've had gathering in that time. Will probably resume with the 'B's in, oh, a year, at my current rate

Various - Balance 015: Will Saul

EQ Recordings: 2009

Won't deny, I had low thoughts about this one when I first saw it advertised a decade ago. I generally liked the Balance series to that point, but Joris Voorn's contribution had me wondering whether things were taking a turn for the over-indulgent, hipster-baiting path. Glancing at the tracklist didn't allay my suspicions either, what with inclusions from Ricardo Villalobos' Minimoonstar, Hercules & Love Affair, Seth 'he so crazy!' Troxler, and that new-fangled 'dubstep' the kids wouldn't shut up about, b'gar. Throw in a cover shot that has Mr. Saul looking like he's posing for Craft Beers Monthly (“This Issue, The 20 Best New IPAs From Mercer Island You MUST Try!”), and yeah, my totally sad first impression wasn't good.

But Will Saul's 3CD set for Balance is good. Real damn good. Ignore what Late 2009 Sykonee thinks. He was getting disillusioned about things anyway.

Besides, my ignorant thoughts were mostly due to ignorance of who Will Saul is. I assume he's a fairly big deal in the UK, though I hadn't heard of him before, and haven't heard much of him since. Has a couple labels behind his belt. Recently released his second album. Look, I've limited word count here, and I'd rather spend it discussing these CDs over Mr. Saul's biography.

And what a lovely assortment of CDs we have here. We're deep in Balance's 'No Genres Off Limits!' era, and with three discs to indulge himself, Will indulges himself indeed. Instead of making each CD strict genre exercises though, Mr. Saul works a general theme while dedicating significant chunks of his sets to specific styles. CD1 gets in on that deep house and space disco vibe, with a tasty acid and Chicago closer. CD2 is the more (then) conventional set of the three, sticking to trendy, minimalist tech-house before taking a slight detour into Detroit's back alleys. Then, in a total tonal shift, Will finishes the set out with future garage (still called 'dubstep' back then). Yeah, that's probably just as trendy, but I like this stuff, so it coo'.

Opening CD3 with reggae dub though? Oh... oh my! Who in the history of Balance has done that? Okay, Jimmy Van M, kinda', but that was just one song, whereas Will spends eight. Some of it is modern 'reggae dub', sure (re: dubstep that actually honours its Jamaican roots), but as found elsewhere across Balance 015, he mixes these (then) contemporary styles with vintage stuff quite nicely. Things move on from there into funk and soul (old and new, including Wolf + Lamb), plus garage and house, with mostly (then) new stuff trying to sound like way old stuff. The retro was in full swing by the late '00s, absolutely.

So yeah, I quite like Will Saul's CD3 here, and even enjoy CD1 despite not having quite as much to say about it. CD2 feels quite of its time though, but is fine for what it offers. Plus, very little of Minimoonstar was used. I LOL'd.

ACE TRACKS: October 2019

I never realized just how addicted I've become to the sun now, at least to feel even the slightest bit productive. It wasn't such a big deal before, as my work schedule always left me with some remaining Sol energy in the day. Now though, with me working a more 'traditional' 9-5 shift, I'm getting home, it's grown dark (if not already dark), and my will power to do anything productive is gone, man, just gone.

Not that there aren't other factors that impede my ability to do much of anything in the evening hours (damn you, Neebs Gaming, and your addictive Cinematic Gameplay videos!), but unlike the summer months, where I could still crank something out before 9pm, my mind totally checks out come 6pm now. Guess it's back to the ultra-early rises to get my writing done then. That seemed to work quite well for me this past winter. Leave me an hour to get in a morning swim too. In the meanwhile, here's the ACE TRACKS for the month of October:


Full track list here.


MISSING ALBUMS:
The Winterhouse - Winter Gardens
Convextion - 2845
Emiliana Torrini - Love In The Time Of Science

Percentage Of Hip-Hop: 0%
Percentage Of Rock: 14%
Most “WTF?” Track: The noisiest outing from Ringo Sheena.

Lots of Phantogram and Ringo Sheena, obviously, what with Patreon Requests eating up a bulk of my review time this past month (the Sheena ones were long overdue requests). Why, you'd almost forget there's things like house, techno, and ambient in here too. Tracks arranged alphabetically, it seems most of the tracks still bunched up together by artist. Huh, my whole deal in doing it my way is to break up the potential monotony of hearing the same artist over and over. Something screwy is afoot this past month, methinks.

Phantogram - Three

Republic Records: 2016

(a Discography Patreon Request from Omskbird)

Every time I say Phantogram out loud, I can't help but say it in a similar manner to how the word 'speakerboxxx' is oft repeated in the OutKast album Speakerboxxx. Like, “Phan-Toe-Gram”. Did the Big Boi influence somehow worm its way into my brain in ways I can't possibly comprehend? That non sequitor out the way...

Like Thanos, the Pop Music Machine is inevitable. Whatever unique traits or style you had will be scrubbed clean by various studio hands for maximum market penetration. Your individual talent will be made to fit predetermined moulds that have proven success rates with as wide a demographic as your handlers feel is possible. This is not some insidious secret only revealed when an unwitting participant has signed their names away. They go into the Machine willingly, hoping to take their brand to commercial heights of success only dreamed of before. It will naturally annoy and even piss-off some hardcore followers that helped nurture an act's rise to prominence from the beginning, but as I said, the process is inevitable.

Not that it isn't possible to make the Machine work for you, but it takes an incredible talent, plus force of personality and will to shine in an industry that disposes of its resources if they don't turn out the expectant results. Even those that do have their time in the limelight are quickly left to the dustbin if a newer, fresher hotness can easily replace them. For real, when was the last time folks cared about a Madonna release?

This isn't a mould I hear Phantogram fitting with Three. For sure they give it their best effort (Sarah Barthel is at times bellowing her soul out, understandable given many of the songs were inspired by the suicidal death of a friend), bringing in professional studio producers and crafting songs with big-huge, wall-of-sound chorus/drops, as was the style at the time (is it still? Please say we've moved on from that). These don't sound like only Phantogram could have made them though. You're Mine could have been done by any number of contemporary starlets as the feature. I sure wouldn't know the difference if I heard it on the work radio. For all the influences of musicians new and old I heard in Phantogram's earlier works, at least I could tell it was Sarah and Josh performing them.

This isn't me condemning the duo though, oh no. If slick anthem pop in the vein of Imagine Dragons is what they wanted to make, then they did it very well, and I'm sure it pleased many fans of this kind of music. It just wasn't made for me, and I have no interest in returning to it anytime soon. Well, maybe Funeral Pyre. That one kinda' felt like the genre-fusion synth-pop act I heard on their earlier works.

I took a listen to one of their recent singles, to hear if they've stayed the course from Three. Yep, that's some big-huge production from Into Happiness.

Phantogram - Voices

Indica: 2014

(a Discography Patreon Request from Omskbird)

I may have oversold my enthusiasm for the Nightlife mini-album. Maybe for Phantogram too? I don't dislike anything I've heard, and find their music worming its way into my brain the more I listen to it, but I can't say I want to re-listen to it. They fall into that nebulous blob of genre interest I think of as the 'This Is Fine' bubble – where every critic's 6/10 records reside. Not that I'd give this such a ranking myself (and even if I did, probably a little higher), but as my music collection balloons and grows, things get lost in the shuffle, including the Random Shuffle feature on my PC. So many songs to 'randomly' choose from, yet it never, ever lands on Fu-Schnickens' Sneakin' Up On Ya? What's up with that? Erm, what I'm getting at is, if Spotify Discovery was to discover me some Phantogram, I'd enjoy it, but wouldn't go out of my way to explore their discography further.

Anyhow, we've flash-jumped a few years, and our intrepid Sarah & Josh duo have hit the big-time, in a low-key sort of way. Tons of tours, tons of festivals. Tons of appearances on late night talk shows (so many Jimmy Fallon performances, just... so many). Tons of nods and approvals within their scene (opening for genre icons M83 couldn't have hurt) and from players outside looking in (yes, Big Boi had taken a liking to them by now). You'd almost think they were half a dozen albums deep into their career with this much promotion behind them, and yet Voices is only their second LP, released half a decade after their first. Dang, dawg and dawgette, you gotta' get into that studio and start cranking out some more music stat, lest your set playlist grow old and stale. Maybe get a major label backing your efforts in the process, for that little extra exposure, really go for the 'pop' in the synth-pop.

I feel like I should like this more. The songcraft is more refined, the production is top-grade, and there's plenty of moments that leap out at me as it plays through. The crunchy guitar action in Nothing But Trouble. The buzzy, punchy bassline in Fall In Love. The percussion in Howling At The Moon (yeah, there's trap snares in there, but oh so much more too). Josh Carter's one-the-nose Peter Gabriel wailing in Never Going Home (whole track sounds like a Peter Gabriel tune, for that matter). There's a few moments that strike me as odd choices, like that same buzzy bassline used in the dream pop of Bill Murray - how can I feel bliss and chill with a sputtering transistor in the background? - but it's hardly detrimental to the album as a whole.

Yet, Voices doesn't grab me the way Eyelid Movies did. It's like, in perfecting their genre fusion, it's turned their neapolitan style into a strict vanilla flavour. But one of those good vanilla flavours, like vanilla bean, or dame blanche.

Phantogram - Nightlife

Bursak Records: 2011

(a Discography Patreon Request from Omskbird)

The debut album's out, the buzz is building, but all that touring is impacting your ability to hop into the studio for another full-length session. Fortunately, the good ol' mini-album option has become quite fruitful in the modern era, a handful of songs all that's needed to be propelled into super-stardom. Why, look at that Skrillex kid, one of the biggest acts of 2011, based almost entirely off a single EP. If he can do it, why not Phantogram? Oh, that whole 'completely different genre and scene' factor, I guess. Yeah, Josh Carter and Sarah Barthel definitely make music of a different style compared to headline festival mosh. I sure didn't hear anything resembling overblown anthems in Eyelid Movies, nothing even hinting at such potential. Guess they'll stay in their lane, the steady rise of synth-pop songcraft within a nurturing indie scene bringing them the fame their later sales numbers indicate. Have I mentioned looking only at Wiki sales charts isn't a good idea to get a full story of a band's development?

The other good thing about making a mini-album is how it keeps things to the point. Eyelid Movies had plenty of good musical ideas about it, but was kinda' rambly in its direction too, one of those LPs where the musicians tend to throw everything at the wall. Such is the case with many debut albums though, muses bursting at the seems to flood out for all to hear. Typically a producer can reign things in, but Phantogram apparently did it all themselves, so here we are. Time to focus your ideas into with surgical precision, then, using what you've learned and build upon it.

Nightlife definitely is that, to such a degree I almost wish this had been longer, exploring these musical ideas and themes for a proper full-length. Sure, the concept is straight-forward enough, one of those inside-out looks at the self-destructive romanticism of hitting up bars and clubs when you're young. I'm sure touring about exposed Sarah and Josh to all manner of ups and downs within their scene, the decadent highs and the dilapidated lows. It's not a specific narrative, mind you, but it does capture the roller coaster of feelings in a night out with an always lingering, nagging doubt of whether your actions mean anything at all. Or maybe I'm reading a bit much into it, but hey, sometimes over-analyzing music half the fun of listening to music. Like, it's practically a mission statement from all those Pitchfork wanna-be clones that existed a decade ago. This is catnip for them! The indie-leaning genre fusion too.

Oh, and of that genre fusion? Yeah, it's still on that synthy indie-rock, dream-pop vein, though less of the wilder leaps into things like funk and soul and whatnot from Eyelid Movies. Again, smaller record, less room to let the muses roam free. Makes for a nice, tight listening experience though, leaving the listener anxious for more. All hail the mini-album, for those who don't have time for artistic bullshit!