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Archived Reviews
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VARIOUS ARTISTS. Dependent Club Invasion Vol3 Compared to the previous DCI releases the reception that this third installment got seemed relatively lukewarm. I think this might be partly due to the fact that two of the singles herein (from Dismantled & Stromkern) are already available on their artists' respective albums with only the hard EBM of Straftanz being new. It's quite surprising that the latter act & their eponymous debut single have ended up on Dependent rather than Noitekk or some similar label as their bombastic, shouty electro would have been very much at home there. Still, the shouted German count-in is sure to get your attention straight away & it soon proves a memorable track with hard-as-nails rhythms & buzzsaw synths giving way to the surprisingly emotive synth work that heralds the chorus. As contrasts go, they don't come much bigger than that & the track benefits immensely because of it although not to the extent that it can carry what more or less amounts to a host of reprises. Any changes that may be present are so minute as to be undetectable & it's only the remixes from Reaper & Agonoize, as well as another original track "Eintausendmal" that make this a worthwhile proposition. All told, this doesn't really give that much away although I'm sure that once they get enough material together they'll create a cracking album. Stromkern, on the other hand, just keep getting better & better, following their best album to date with one of its best tracks in "Reminders". An obvious choice for a single, being an immediately memorable & ultra-infectious electro slice with a hard rocking edge, this is sure to be a massive hit. So good is it, in fact that not even Bill Leeb could better it although his 'Trans Siberian Mix' does belatedly show its power. The other remixes are pleasant enough but nothing special, in contrast to the two original tracks which are worth the price of admission alone & show Ned Kirby & co scaling new heights of grandeur, majesty & good old-fashioned power, particularly during the instrumental "The City" which builds from its quiet beginnings into a powerful fusion of mountainous guitars & emotive piano work. This, to me, is the sign of real genius, proving that the band are totally on top of their game & even if "Feed The Machine" doesn't quite attain the same high standards it again features effective piano work & really builds up a head of steam towards the end. On the strength of this their next album could be even better & for that reason alone it can't come soon enough. Dismantled's "Thanks For Everything" again follows from the artist's best work, namely the "Standard Issue" album & throughout, Gary Zon's vocals are as recognisable as ever, be it on the club version or the future pop-styled alternate version with filler remixes from Cesium 137 & another version of "Spin" being joined by a new track in the shape of the solid & poppy "Change The World" which carries on where the album left off & while I'd rather have it than not it's hardly world class &, along with the filler remixes from Cesum 137 & a new version of "Spin" makes this single one for diehard fans only, in contrast to Straftanz's which is an intriguing (if ultimately limited) release & Stromkern's which is a must! |
