LOVELESS - Hello World

Loveless was founded in 1994 by Mikael Askernäs (vocals, keyboards, programming) and Jan-Erik Saarinen (keyb, b-voc) in Karlstad, Sweden. One year later the band found its current setup as Fredrik Svensson (keyboards, back vocals) joined the band. In April 2002 the band released this album on the Canadian label Kinetic Response Records.
The melodies on "Hello World" are based on minimalist structures and are reminiscent of early 80s synthetics. The listener will recognize the band's influence of early SynthPoP bands like Depeche Mode and Yazoo. The melodies create a mystically dark soundscape ("The One", "Function") but also are playful and melodic ("My World", "Like I Do"). The singing is calm and sometimes dark. For my taste it is too monotonous and could be more melodic and fresher. "Hello World" is a varied album that spans the spectrum of dark disco to happy sounds.
For people who also like electronic music inspired by early 80s sounds (frequency modulated sound), they will find an good album that keeps up with releases by "Elegant Machinery" or "Avantgarde".

BACKLASH - Impetus>

"Impetus" is the debut album by the newcomers "Backlash". Backlash make use of smooth female singing that perfectly fits with the open and long-range sound background. The music on "Impetus" is restful and never overpowering. It requires you to close your eyes and to concentrate on the sophisticated interplay of sound-effects and melodies that create a fantastic musical environment. The singing is always kept discreetly in the foreground and is only a companion to the synthetic melodies.
I prefer the song "Blind" as it combines melancholic singing with a percussive beat that makes this sound suitable for the dancefloor. I also like the song "Impetus" which is made of "1-Bit" sounds we know from early computer games and is accompanied by deadpan singing.

On the whole "Impetus" is a very varied album that demands highbrow listeners who like to relax while diving in a magical sound field.

DE/VISION - Remixed (limited edition)

Remixed offers the rebirth of songs recorded between 1993 to 1996, in remixed form. The limited edition comes with a second CD with remixes by alternative Bands like "Colony 5", "Psyche", "T.O.Y.", and others. The remixes on CD 1 were adapted for the dancefloor as they were freshened up with modern basses and additional modern synths that fit with a "DancePoP" musical flavour ("Take Me To The Time", "Get Over The Wall", "Free From Cares", ).
On the whole the remixes on CD 1 are well done, powerful and danceable. Maybe some De/vision fans won't like the remixes as they sound too commercial and they have lost their original charisma. I have to recommend the limited edition as the remixes on CD 2 keep the original character of the songs, especially the sensitivity and melancholy of the originals (for example "Your Hands On My Skin", "Free From Cares", "Endlose Träume").

Unfortunately the Remixed album comes with a copy-protection that does not allow to play the CDs on PC-DVD or -CD players. A look into the guestbook of De/vision shows that some people also have problems on stand-alone players or DVD/Audio-Combos. Well, the protection of an artist's work is a must but only with a mechanism that does not create any troubles. It's not the consumer's job to be a beta-tester for the music companies.

THE ECHOING GREEN - The Evergreen Collection

After 8 years of producing excellent SynthPoP music "The Echoing Green" decided to release a collection of their best songs recorded between 1994 and 2001. Beside 16 classic songs like "Face Of God", "Aurora", and others the 2CD comes with a remixed version of "Defend Your Joy (buck rogers mix)" on CD 1. CD 2 includes 14 songs which were remixed by alternative bands like "Echo Image", "The Nine", "Anything Box", "Intervox" and many others.
On the whole the remixes do not destroy the feeling of the original versions. Songs like "Defend Your Joy", "Face Of God", "Heart With A View", "Liberation" were composed with full basses and additional synthetics and represent very catchy dancefloor music.

"The Evergreen Collection" presents everything a fan expects and more. For people who do not know "The Echoing Green" it is a great chance to get familiar with their music and hear some excellent melodic PoP.