One thing that has interminably bugged me is this unwritten piece of legislation that states what is acceptable for the metalhead to listen to. A marginal box of “guilty pleasures” that one is expected to keep hidden in the closet, though may openly throw up in conversation to appear broad-minded; Pink Floyd are fine. As I’ve learnt in recent years, so are Abba. Yes, nothing wrong with a bit of cheesy 70’s pop now, is there? I suppose with me it is a pathological aversion of being told what I should like; this is music, at the end of the day and it’d be a dull world if we all listened to the same bands.
Which brings me onto EBM, which is dismissed by some as “an excuse for Goths to listen to dance music.” Well, first off; if you’re that way inclined, should you even need an excuse? Secondly, how is that different from the hordes of metal fans I know who openly admit to liking those “acceptable” dance artists, like the Prodigy or Moby? What it comes down to, is that deep down, we all like a good boogie, whether that means shuffling your feet around in your living room, or waving neon glo-sticks about and dressing in pink tutu’s (myself excluded of course, as I’m far too metal for any such nonsense!) so without further ado…
Neon Synthesis are fairly new boys to the game, and I guess it shows through; this has the fresh, funky flavour that can only be achieved by energetic, fresh (though pasty) faced upstarts. From the opening bars of ‘Nihil’ we begin to get a feel for what this is about; sprightly synths waver about in the mix adding a splash of colour to the sturdy industrial backbone. This pulls evenly through ‘Visions From Above’ and ‘Betrayal’ as slowly but surely the dance elements are pushed further up to the surface, as the latter lures you in with its euphoric trance that for a brief moment soaks everything up and spews it all back out again, returning to its original form and putting forth some truly wicked industrialised dance beats. I cannot continue without mentioning the former; ‘Visions From Above’ is perhaps the most infectious track on the album; I love its groovy rhythm that pounds along and snaps back into place, as the synths creep over the top creating a kind of ambience that all blends together allowing a wild, colourful mix to form.
The first half of the album certainly seems stronger than the last five tracks; towards the end things begin to fizzle out and all seems to get increasingly laid back. The synths still sound hard but the darkwave vocals become softer and the beats more subdued on tracks like ‘The Sweetest Nightmare.’ Perhaps this should be compared to a night out; when you’ve had enough of waving your glo-sticks about and stomping your feet on the dancefloor, you grab another drink and plonk yourself down in the corner and watch tired clubbers shuffling their feet and stumbling around after one too many drinks. Final track ‘Catharsis’ lives up to its name, and its mellow bassline and subtle synths play out with an airy ambience.
This is a most enjoyable album; really strong tracks with a crunchy sound and plenty of catchy rhythms to get hooked into. Totally recommended.
http://www.myspace.com/neonsynthesis
http://www.neonsynthesis.com/
http://www.killerpoolrecords.com/
http://www.myspace.com/killerpoolrecords
