Hard-Wired Synthpop Review
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Artist
Celluloide
Title
Napthaline LP
Format/Cat
CD BDMCD10
Label
BoredomProduct
Style
Synthpop
Date of review
17th February 2008
Reviewer
Carl Jenkinson
Rating
7/10
You could almost be forgiven for thinking that Celluloide & And One have got some kind of psychic link going on. Not only did both coin the phrase 'Body Pop' at about the same time but both have been paying homage to their musical heritage of late, And One with their forthcoming album of the same name & the French analogue trio with this album but, given that this is actually an expansion of a download-only release from about two years ago I think Member u-0176, Darkleti & Patryck Holdwem have first dibsies on this one! The original project saw the trio revisiting the darker side of their 80s roots, covering such gothic legends as The Sisters, Siouxsie And The Banshees, The Cure & Dead Can Dance' as well as Lio (which I'm presuming is or was a household name in France) & a version of Lush's 'Lights From A Dead Star' just to prove that the 90s did have something to offer, all done in their usual manner with Darkleti's Gallic-favoured vocals complimenting the bleepy analogue synths. But if that was an attempt to show that there's more than synthpop in the Celluloide world then they stick to what they seem to know best on the second half which contains the newer tracks, including two almost inevitable Depeche Mode cover (although the selection of the lesser-known 'Somebody' & 'Reason Man' proves their REAL fan status in no uncertain terms!) along with versions of tracks by Camouflage, Boytronic, Dark Distant Spaces, Sista Mannen Pa Jordan & a fortuitously-timed cover of 'Logical Animals' by the recently-reemerged Trisomie 21 all being given the Celluloide once-over. So if you're a fan of the band you'll certainly not be disappointed with this & hopefully some unconverted fans of the covered artists will be intrigued enough to discover the Celluloide sound for themselves, as well.