OK, they're not all new, but I bought them all recently, so they're new to *me*...
Starfighterz - 4 Flavours Of A Two-Sided Story - Part 1 (Delsin) I didn't like this quite as much as I'd expected to when I first heard it, but repeated listens have shown it to be a bit of a grower. It is a very pure techno record in many ways, but on the other hand - especially rhythmically - it's pretty atypical; all in all I find it's much more suited for listening than dancing. So if you like listening techno with a nice purist sound to it, and less of an emphasis on driving 4/4 rhythms, this is probably for you. Tang - Nightfall EP (Emphasis) This was purchased very much on a whim - it's always been a funny habit of mine to buy at least one record on every shopping spree that I just like the *look* of, without listening to it or anything. I can't begin to imagine how much great music I'd never have heard if I didn't employ this tactic, and it's netted me a surprisingly low number of duffers as well. Anyway, I digress - I wasn't disappointed with this EP in the slightest. When I got it home and took it out of the sleeve, it turned out to be on clear vinyl, which was a good start. But when I played it, I was even more impressed! This record is *right* up my street - sounding like it could have been made right at the end of the 1980s, or right at the beginning of the 1990s, it strikes a perfect balance between the sophisticated synthy Chicago/Detroit sound and the early-90s UK electronic listening music sound. No tracks are especially devastating, but all are very atmospheric and lush, with 909 toms and kicks sitting proudly in the mix underneath nice JX-8P and Juno synth textures. So a very pleasant surprise considering I bought it at random. V/A - A Secret History (New Religion) What can I say that hasn't already been said - this compilation of obscure and hard-to-find electronic gems from the early days is remarkable not just for the quality of the music to be found on it, but also from the effort that's been put into the package as a whole. From the gatefold sleeve through to Dan Sicko's engaging liner notes, everything is put together with a love and affection that you can't help but notice. There are a few tracks on here that I've been looking for for *years*, but had never been able to ID; particularly "Hypnotic Tango". I have to be honest and say that that Paul McCartney track is a bit dodgy though! :) Optic Nerve - Rebirth EP (Psycho Thrill) When I think of the whole Optic Nerve concept, the sound of cinematic and futuristic strings comes into my head; after a few seconds an excitable m500-esque bassline fades up in the mix, and gradually more elements (portamento'd, sparkly riffs and so on) join in as well. So it was no surprise to put this record on when I got home and hear the sound of cinematic and futuristic strings before an excitable m500-esque bassline started to fade up...! For me, the standout tracks are on side B, particularly the first track on that side; very useful from a DJ perspective, almost begging you to mix Robert Hood's "The Pace" into it with its stab on the first and third beat of every bar. Nothing remarkably unlike other Optic Nerve releases on here, so if you like that sound you'll like this record. If you don't, you won't. I do! Los Hermanos - Tres (Los Hermanos) Hopefully I won't get flamed too badly for saying this, but I was definitely quite disappointed with this release. The first LH record was a blinder, IMHO, and the second was nearly as good if not so much of an outright classic. But I get the feeling that there was a bit of a "will this do?" attitude at work in the making of this EP. None of the tracks would be out of place on a Los Hermanos EP, not to get me wrong - but they're all filler tracks, in a way. There's nothing that "leads" the EP in the way that "Birth of 3000" or "Quetzal" do, and I think the record suffers for that. The four tracks on here are all very rhythmically driven, but the rhythms aren't as layered or engrossing as earlier drummy LH tracks like "Son Dos" are. A bit of a drop in quality here, IMHO, but I appreciate that many others won't agree... Brendan
