Music
Review: Bella Morte – As The Reasons Die
BELLA MORTE AS THE REASONS DIE Metropolis If you’re intent on categorizing bands into genres, you might want to ignore Bella Morte’s existence. Caught somewhere between industrial and synthpop with a touch of something gothic, Bella Morte again prove that creativity is a whole lot more interesting than the paint-by-numbers approach by flowing seamlessly between
Review: Midlake – Bamnan and Slivercork
MIDLAKE BAMNAN AND SLIVERCORK Bella Union Typically, Simon Raymonde (Cocteau Twins) and his lovely Bella Union record label release quality albums. Bamnan and Slivercork from Midlake is quite easily the worst lazy clone of a Flaming Lips release that you could ever imagine. It’s detached without any sense of purpose other than to remind me that
Review: Strange Boutique – The Collection 1988-1994
STRANGE BOUTIQUE THE COLLECTION 1988-1994 Metropolis Faith and the Muse is certainly a fine band with their ethereal rock and theatricality, but I’ve always felt that Monica Richards’ best work was locked in a secret capsule called Strange Boutique. The sound isn’t all that far removed from Faith and the Muse; I always felt like
Review: Delays – Faded Seaside Glamour
DELAYS FADED SEASIDE GLAMOUR Rough Trade Undoubtedly the Delays will draw comparisons to The Byrds, love children and braided hair adorned with flowers in the pre-Altamont 60s due to the cascading of songs like “Nearer than Heaven.” Which I suppose is fine as long as you’re not intending it as an insult. Personally, I hear
Review: Davantage – Unholy
DAVANTAGE UNHOLY Black Rain 5/5 Davantage failed to impress me the first time with their debut album, Broken Influences. Unholy generously offers 13 tracks of some of the best dark electro I have heard in a while. Title track, “Unholy,” sold me instantly with stunning dance-floor beats and anthem electro. “T.C.A.” and “Davantage 03″ bring
Review: The Retrosic – God Of Hell
THE RETROSIC GOD OF HELL Metropolis 4.5/5 Prepare yourself for another new act storming into the U.S. industrial scene. The Retrosic has already been named #1 in the German Alternative Charts, “Album of the Month” in several music magazines and the winner of several “soundchecks.” The comparisons are obviously going to be of Wumpscut (even
Review: Apoptygma Berzerk – The Harmonizer DVD
APOPTYGMA BERZERK THE HARMONIZER DVD Metropolis 5/5 With the influx of mediocre music DVDs lately, my expectations were pretty low for Apoptygma Berzerk’s latest, The Harmonizer DVD. I was absolutely blown away with the quality and content of this package that APB has unleashed. Over 90 minutes includes a legitimate live performance (mouths and words
Review: Punto Omega – Self-Title
PUNTO OMEGA Self-Title Metropolis 3/5 The spread of industrial angst has reached Argentina and has brought with it Punto Omega (that translates to “Omega Point”). Viator and Pilgrim, the duo known as Punto Omega, only recently started this project in 2002. It took hardly any time for L’lame Immortelle’s Thomas Rainer to discover them and
Review: Hocico – Born To Be Heated
HOCICO BORN TO BE HATED Out of Line 4/5 It’s hard for me to get tired of Hocico. They produce so much consistently angry, quality music and it never seems to get old. “Born to be (Hated)” is the single to the album that is rumored to be released sometime in August. Four tracks (the
Review: K.O.T Feat. Haze – Dreams
K.O.T. FEAT. HAZE “DREAMS” Defected Records From Kings of Tomorrow, including headman Sandy Rivera (“Finally” and “Changes”) comes the hit of the summer. The first edition of this release comprises Spanish boys Chus and Ceballos. Promised to be engineered for the New York and Ibiza megaclubs, this track is full of tribal sounds underlying the