I’ve been doing this for a couple of years now and, sometimes it’s nice to look back and see how you’ve progressed…it’s nice to remind yourself of some of the music you’ve covered; sometimes good…sometimes not so good…and sometimes I’ve questioned my own judgement, even my sanity. Back in 2014 for example I was tasked with reviewing a German duo by the name of JUNKSISTA…with influences ranging from LADY GAGA to NINE INCH NAILS I was naturally intrigued by the prospect of their then album “High Voltage Confessions” but merciful god were things about to get Nazi (Nasty…I made a Pun before you go all Alt-Right on my ass)…with songs about panties, whoopee cushions and I’m not even joking; twat punching…I was left mentally scarred. The group have recently gotten in touch with me once again and asked if I fancy round two…their new album “Promiscuous Tendencies” drops on February 9th…cue the Dad’s Army intro…let’s do this…

We open up with “Monday” and like the beginning of every week the prospect is a depressing one, especially knowing what preceded it last time round…musically it combines a dark pulsing techno with a trance inspired feel elevating the chorus and it’s got it’s hooks, it’s not a bad listen by any means musically but I can’t help but feel they dropped acid listening to THE BOOMTOWN RATS and thought “Yeah, fuck Mondays!”…never mind the Cleveland Elementary School shooting, Bob Geldof was referring to this song 40 years in advance! New single “Fuck For Love” is a considerably slower, more morose effort…an anti-ballad of sorts, it’s cold and synthetic and emphasises the juxtaposition of the title which works well given it’s more serious tone. Then we have “Ice Cream”…and given its suggestive lyricism and seductive approach I can’t imagine that this is a play on words promoting anything other than oral sex…do I ask Tonibell for a 69 or do I get a spit-roast from Ben & Jerry? I have too many options…

​One thing that I will say though…all jokes aside…this album is a remarkable improvement. “Control” for example utilises some infectious dance-pop qualities and has a good rhythm, while “Bitch This Is My Party” is rich in bubbly, light electronica which is undeniably enjoyable, but the real highlights come courtesy of “Monster” and “Freak At Heart”. The former, featuring LAYZEE, is a wonderfully catchy, disco inspired up-tempo piece with a strong DAFT PUNK influence, while the latter, a collaboration with EMKE is a brilliant slab of 80’s inspired synth-wave; it’s impossible to not appreciate this…and here I eat humble pie. When vocalist Diana emailed me I have to be totally honest, she called my bluff and I fell for it. I conditioned myself to expect the worst and mentally prepared myself for the impending cringe, but I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised. The musical quality has never been in question, it was the last albums saving grace, it was the song content that really got under my skin…but here they’ve toned down the ridiculousness but managed to retain their core character and it’s paid off really rather well…a solid electronic album; even though I’ve been put off ice cream for the foreseeable future. [7]

Back in September I ran a review on one of Klayton’s numerous projects on the FiXT roster; SCANDROID, who returned with their highly anticipated second album “Monochrome”…a very nostalgically indulgent project acting as a throwback to the 80’s era of new-wave synth pop, the neon retro glow of early electronic music, with the concept of living in a futuristic cyberpunk neo-Tokyo…it was done incredibly well and proved once again that Kalyton is one of the top electronic artists in the world today…but he’s not the only one dabbling in the past. Fellow label-mate BLUE STAHLI (Real name Bret Autrey) has caught the retro bug too it seems and for his own new project, he’s dropped the heavier, guitar driven EDM for a spot of synth-pop. With the debut album “Starlight” being released December 1st…let’s checkout SUNSET NEON…

We rather appropriately open up with “Opening Title Sequence” which, really, is probably the most straight-to-the-point, generic track title you could possibly imagine…if this was a film score, I would understand but here it doesn’t even have any sense of ironic self-awareness…it’s just lazy. The track itself is just over a minute of otherworldly, spacey soft-synth…it’s like something that may have found its way into one of the scenes on "Stranger Things" and while it’s promising regarding the rest of the album, I’m already distracted now, Netflix is calling me…I regain focus however as first track proper; “Got You” kicks in and this is more like it! It’s rich in bubbly, up-beat disco inspired new-wave indie-pop…the style, the sound, the vibe; it’s all absolutely spot on here…an early album highlight this is something you could easily imagine having been on old-school Top Of The Pops.

Further highlights include the vibrant “Never Dance Again” which wonderfully blends era’s into one light-hearted, happy-go-lucky electronic pop number…imagine KIM WILDE collaborated with CHARLI XCX and you wouldn’t be far off…it’s beat and rhythm are minimalistic while the guitar during the chorus adds a little depth and just a touch of attitude, this is an enjoyable pop song. “You Are The Sun” layers incredibly soft vocals over a relaxed soft-synth backing, akin to early boy bands in ways, while the title track utilises a lo-fi ambience with a charming delicacy fans of SAVAGE GARDEN would appreciate. The real highlight however comes courtesy of “Tonight”…more guitar-driven in tone and in ways more suited to a glam rock band, it’s got more of an edge, it’s pumping, it’s motivational; it’s the kind of song Rocky Balboa would punch frozen cow carcasses to…excellent stuff. Several of the tracks fail to inspire as instrumentals however; “Strut” has this, nu-disco swagger, it’s got funk but it feels like filler…”Metrocenter 84” too suffers similarly, though more laid back and ambient…but the real kick in the childhood comes from the surprise cover of PRINCE classic “Kiss”…merciful god…the original was painfully cringe-worthy with his unique high pitched vocal but it’s worse when imitated…it’s like MIKA and Justin Hawkins from THE DARKNESS had a bollockless lovechild and it attempted to match the track cringe-for-cringe. Ultimately though, the album as a whole has its quaint nostalgic tones firmly set in the lighter, poppier end of the retrospectrum (See what I did there?) and it offers a wholly different listen to Scandroid, though sadly, the songs here are weaker if we compare the two projects…Sunset Neon needs to replace a few bulbs I think. [5]

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again…Klayton is a busy, busy man…seriously…the guy is like the bloody Energizer Bunny…over the last year alone he’s released three full studio albums by three different projects through FiXT…”Machines Of Our Disgrace” by the returning industrial metal monster CIRCLE OF DUST…he debuted SCANDROID and only earlier this year, released a brand new CELLDWELLER record…and that’s not counting his instrumental and remix releases! Yet, low and behold, like the true workaholic that he is, he’s back again to round off 2017 with “Monochrome”...returning under his Scandroid moniker, we find ourselves immersed once again in the soft, neon glow of 1980’s new-wave synth pop…conceptually set in a futuristic, cyberpunk-inspired Neo-Tokyo…let’s go back to the future to check it out…

We open up with “2518” and essentially it acts as a foreword, setting the tone, setting the scene for the album going forward…amidst slow, sweeping synths, we get echoed vocals, very mechanical and cold, talking of a conflict between man and machine, set in the year of the song title…this is very SkyNet…is John Connor safe? I digress…It gives us a brief yet interesting intro, actually having a plot, instead of the overdone, purely instrumental opening track…before we’re met with first song proper; “Afterglow” and what a way to get this album going…this is some seriously slick techno-pop, at its core inspired by the likes of NEW ORDER…the beats and rhythm are so infectious…looped, bubbly keys, it’s spacey…the slightest touch of electronic guitar adding extra substance but not detracting from the feel of the song, a brilliant throwback pop track this, superb. The fun doesn’t stop there however, oh no…”A Thousand Years” once again channels all of that 80’s influence through the likes of ULTRAVOX and DURAN DURAN…Klayton’s vocals are so smooth over this up-beat, percussive piece…it’s incredibly vibrant and catchy, the fade out works well and it’s simply a wonderfully retro track, really well done, likewise with “The Veil”….again utilising more guitar, it’s got a feeling of A FLOCK OF SEAGULLS to it and it’s a brilliant piece of alt. pop, Klayton is on top form here it has to be said.

The fun doesn’t stop there either…as fairly early on we’re treated to an incredibly brave cover…”Thriller” by MICHAEL JACKSON…but in all fairness it’s done a level of justice here that has to be appreciated…while it IS missing the legendary Vincent Price monologue, the intro here instead is more befitting of an 80’s slasher flick…remember when Friday The 13th Part 3 had that funky disco/synth intro? More akin to that…it’s a classic and few can match the pop credentials of Jackson but this is done well overall…and while on the topic of pop-culture, he’s only gone and included a synth cover of “The Force Theme” from STAR WARS too…the iconic film score gets a new lease of life and it sounds so lively but no less dramatic, your inner nerd will want to swing your lightsaber to your heart’s content, and that’s not a metaphor I promise! There are other instrumentals here such as “Oblivia” and “Searching For A Lost Horizon” but they can’t match this by default…essentially what we have here, is Klayton taking all that was good from the debut and giving it an upgrade…it’s odd that an album with such vibrancy and character would be called monochrome…while yes, it is of one style and era, it’s such a colourful genre to begin with, this record is full of life, it's brilliant...mark my words, we’ll still be listening to this in the year 2518…[8]

Let’s take a minute to talk about taste…everyone has taste in something. Sometimes you question it and say someone has “bad taste”…be it in clothes or films or food or music…but it’s human, we’re all different, if we all liked the same things, we’d be boring or, I’d imagine it’s what it’s like living in North Korea…I digress, anyway,  you’ll never find me wearing tracksuit bottoms for example or, you won’t find me watching romantic comedies, or, you won’t find me ever enjoying R’n’B…it’s not in my taste! I hate them! But that’s OK! However, when someone comes along and shares the same interests and tastes as you, you become one of The Inbetweeners…”Ooh Friend!”… This happened very recently with regards to a band from Warsaw, Poland, who emailed me their new EP; “Eternal Hunger”…the band, who formed in 2014, is called THE POISONED HEARTS and they are the culmination of all things I love in music. Their name is derived from THE RAMONES track “Poison Heart”…and their influences include SISTERS OF MERCY…JOY DIVISION…THE CURE…all of the original alt. bands that paved the way for goth rock as we know it…misery loves company as they say, so let’s check it out! Ooh friend!

We open up with “The Ancient One” and we’re greeted with a very soft, delicate guitar tone with some ever so slightly darker underlying bass-driven synths…it’s incredibly simplistic and carries a really good, catchy hook, harking back to those early days of new wave alternative pop, vocally, Lukasz Boldyn delivers a brilliant performance channeling the likes of Andrew Eldritch and Jyrki Linnankivi…it captures the tone of the era and the humble beginnings of the genre perfectly, this is both nostalgic and refreshing, a good start. Following on from here we have the first of two covers and oh boy have they picked a classic…everyone knows the emotional story of Ian Curtis, one of rock ‘n’ rolls saddest chapters, immortalised in the posthumous Joy Division hit “Love Will Tear Us Apart”…here they’ve taken the iconic song and stripped it back, making it a little darker, a little grittier but it’s lost none of its melancholic charm…as soon as you hear that riff, you can’t help but feel happy and sad at the same time and they’ve done it justice here, beautiful.

The second cover is “Alice” by goth-rock godfathers Sisters Of Mercy…it’s not one of their bigger hits but here the band have perfectly paid homage to the retro charm of those early forays into alt. rock, the production quality is incredibly precise; it’s so nostalgic, it feels like you actually have been transported to the 80’s, and here Lukasz voice is perfect, absolutely spot on for this, it’s brilliant. The remaining two original tracks “When The Dawn Is Coming” and “Deadline”, despite being good themselves are always going to live in the shadows of the aforementioned…the former carrying a lighter, positive tone, having a soothing feeling, whereas the latter, with its slower, more morose delivery is probably the weakest track on the EP. However, overall, there’s nothing here you can really complain about…if you’re a fan of old-school alternative rock and have missed the youthful post-punk heyday’s of your upbringing, TPH will provide you with a quality blast from the past, for this truly sounds like the real deal…go on…get your goth on. [8]