Zeromancer are back with another instalment of their radio friendly blend of industrial pop goth, and are back on good form it seems. ‘Sinners International’ is the follow up to 2004’s ‘Zzyzx’, and now finally getting a release following the original release date of 2007. Why it’s been knocked back a year and a half is a bit of a mystery, as the finished article is pretty much what you would expect from a Zeromancer release. It’s a big bunch of fun, danceable gothpop to satiate the horny and the self loathing. As good as it should have been though? No, probably not.
When Zeromancer first appeared on the scene they were exciting, and caused a deserved buzz in the alternative clubs. However over the next few albums, their more polished and mainstream output was not received with the same fervour of the early material. As with most bands who have strived to be more commercially successful, they deviated from their roots and slipped into the abyss of mainstream acceptability. Whilst this was the case for these guys before, they have since had the benefit of the goth scene in general moving more into the mainstream, and now with ‘Sinners International’, things would seem to be in place for a successful run. Unfortunately, the album does itself no favours by starting off on a quiet note. The title track is quite a plodding effort that never really gathers any momentum, and single ‘Doppelganger I Love You’, doesn’t really fare much better. This kind of music always works better when it’s got a bit of life in it, and it does gain a few steps of pace over the next couple of tracks, with ‘My Little Tragedy’ and ‘It Sounds Like Love (But It Looks Like Sex)’, which is easily the best thing on here. It’s edgy, pacy and sexy, which is what Zeromancer used to be about. The album loses its way a bit with the frankly dull ‘Filth Noir’ before finding some quality again in final track ‘Ammonite’, a slow and moody song, and one of the better tracks here. Everything just seems dangerously on the positive side of bland here. The guitars are nice and dirty, but not loud enough. The drums are timid. Alex Møklebust’s vocals are all very nice, but lacking in passion and an element of rawness. It’s all good, but nothing exceptional.
There’s no doubt that this is a more potent album than the disappointing ‘Zzyzx’, but at the same time I found it a bit of a pedestrian effort. There’s little on here to keep you coming back for further listens, and certainly nothing to rival the likes of ‘Doctor Online’ or ‘Clone Your Lover’. I can probably liken it most to Stabbing Westward’s ‘Darkest Days’, both in its sound and in its overall impression. Both are good albums, with a few great tracks, but overall both feel like an opportunity missed, especially in this case when considering the 18 month delay. Good, but could, and should have been better.
http://www.zeromancer.com
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