Debut release for the newly formed Synth Pop label ‘Pink Gorilla Records’, a collection of 15 tracks and bands from the present Synth Pop scene featuring a seemly exclusive selection of tracks and remixes. It is slightly difficult with each compilation that features so many remixes to judge a track, especially when you’re not familiar with the original version of the track itself.
INTACT
’Empire Of Lies’ is an excellent up-tempo club orientated Synth Pop track from Intact with guest vocals from the German act The Diverge, this is mainly excellent German influenced Synth Pop with the vocals to match.
RATING – 8
NEW CONCEPT
‘Why Don’t You Believe Me’ was an excellent track on their debut album ‘Wheel Of Love’, both the track and album are I’m sure more than familiar to many fellow Synthpoppers, but this version that’s appears here has been broken down and stripped of its excellent synth riff, almost leaving the track itself to sound empty and pointless, a more than average remix, but I’m sure like many I prefer the original version.
RATING – 5
ECHO IMAGE
‘En Annen Verde’ is seemly the hidden track on their debut album ‘Compuphonic’, its once again sung in Norwegian and is a mainly excellent mid-paced track and a good remix while I don’t like that fuzzy guitar in the background
RATING – 7
A SPELL INSIDE
‘Horizon’ is an excellent up-tempo remix of a track that was seemly originally a ballad, no idea myself as A Spell Inside are a band I’m more or less completely unfamiliar with, but this track, in both the music and vocals comes across almost like a more Synth Pop version of fellow Germans Dance Or Die, it’s a great track, very catchy and with a great chorus.
RATING – 10
BLUE OCTOBER
‘All I Need Is Now’ is a long and more rhythm based Dance orientated remix with the vocals sounding distant and almost hidden in the background. I’m not familiar with the original version of this track, but this version is clearly too long at over six minutes and for me the track quickly gets boring and repetitive. I’m sure the original is better and there is nice synth riff here, but this remix in general does nothing for me.
RATING – 3
RATIONAL YOUTH
‘You Saved Me’ is an excellent new track that’s very similar in style to their ‘comeback’ album ‘To The Goddess Electricity’, a mainly mid-paced track with a catchy up-tempo chorus and some nice female backing vocals. With the recent announcement of the band splitting up, this could be the last new track we could get to hear from Rational Youth.
RATING – 9
ESTATUAS DEL SOL
‘Dame Tu Alma’ is a nice, simple and light track taken from their ‘Antitesis’ demo and is the strongest track on the demo itself, its been remixed for this compilation and sounds lighter and Erasure like, which is not a complaint, the vocals also sound good.
RATING – 7
OBYSC(Y)RE
’Wounds’ is mainly a very good mid-paced track with a strong chorus and with more than a heavy New Order influence, but i don’t like the heavy guitar through out the track itself while the vocals are at the best of times average. This is actually the first track I’ve heard from this German band, it’s a good track, but really nothing special.
RATING – 5
PERSONA
’Good For Me’ is a short and almost dreamy mid-paced rhythm based track from this American duo, a nice track that almost sounds demo like, but it really does nothing for me and is for me clearly one of the weaker tracks on the album, but of course this is a remix, so may be the original version is better.
RATING – 4
NEUROPA
‘Away’ is a familiar piece of light, mid-paced Erasure style Synth Pop from one of the more underrated bands on the present scene, this track is very similar to their previous releases, both singles and albums and is for me one of the highlights of the album itself.
RATING – 10
RED FLAG
‘Cause And Consequence’ appears here in another remixed version, adding to the two other remixes on their ‘Fear Series’ of black singles. This track and remix is similar in both sound and style to the darker Electro Pop they have been producing in recent years. This track is another excellent mid-paced number with touches of mid to late-80s Depeche Mode with those quietly sung vocals.
RATING – 7
AVANTGARDE
‘No Hesitate’ is a superb piece of mid-paced to up-tempo analogue based Synth Pop, like all of the material that Avant Garde have previously released, its perfect Synth Pop rooted in Yazoo and early Erasure. Both the track and the band provide a perfect example of what Synth Pop is and should be and for me its the best track on the album itself.
RATING – 10
SWEEP
‘In Your Eyes’ appears in a remixed version, so not being familiar with the original track its once again difficult to judge the track itself, but this remix is a mid-paced piece of 90s Synth Pop with a strong and catchy chorus that lifts the remix from being completely flat and average. May be it’s the remix, but I would assume that the original would once again be a better version.
RATING – 6
RED LIGHT DISTRIKT
’Mongo’ is probably the most anticipated track on this album, considering the involvement of Robert Enforsen, on hearing the track itself, I’m sure that some If not many will be disappointed not to hear Robert Enforsen providing the vocals, those fall to his partner in this ‘project’, Jarma Ollia, better noted for his own bands Daily Planet & La Vogue. Like Enforsen, Ollia is another excellent vocalist, as is proven on this equally excellent hard edged piece of mid-paced quirky Synth Pop, a track that in each and every way is not too dissimilar to Elegant Machinery.
RATING – 8
BEBORN BETON
‘Vorbei’ is an average mid-paced track with German vocals, unfortunately its another track that really goes nowhere; good, but there is really nothing that stands out with this track, again another track that really does nothing for me.
RATING – 4
DANNY KING / syntheticvision@hotmail.com
‘SYNTHETIC VISION’ synth pop fanzine
JUNE 2002
RATING: 8
Artist Link: http://www.pink-gorilla.com/
|
Videos
TWEET