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Infomatik
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Technologies
Self-Released
Release: 2005
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Rated:
Review by:
Morley Seaver
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I'm a sucker for 80's new wave stuff, especially the British
variety, and anything driven by those Casio-sounding
keyboards; stuff like Flock of Seagulls, The Fixx, Classix
Nouveaux, and the like.
Well, Infomatik is here to replace those bands, but they're not
merely a nostalgia act. The band combines all that is great
about that era of music but they add bass and guitar which are
more central to the sound now. Don't worry, the keys are still
wailing away but there is more of an organic feeling rather than
the electronic, robot-infested ambience of old.
Infomatik is singers Ben Larson (bass) and Colin English
(drums), along with keyboardist Geoffrey Gardner.
Technologies is 10 cuts of glorious
techno-pop/rock. The first cut, "Kill Your Idols," is almost
Ultravox-good. Or sort of like Japan if they were on X, the
same feel only faster and freer. The bass line is the skeleton,
which holds up "Absence," an ass-shifting exercise that
screams for a club and Christmas lights. "Ghosting" has an
intro that recalls U2's "New Year's Day" but follows a hypnotic
trail to somewhere otherworldly.
"The Mechanical Bride" is one of my favourite cuts on this
record. It has a jerky hook to it that makes one think of a
robot trying to dance. "1000 Fragments" is great, as is
"Sleeping Pill." "Behind the Faces" has a soaring keyboard
chorus floating over an edgy keyboard riff, and some cool
instrumental lines that help make this one of the best cuts
here. It's like a crossing of Sisters of Mercy with Bauhaus,
torqued up by some studio whiz kid. The closer, "Parasol," has
a bass line with postnasal drip, skip roping over top of some
excellent verses and a great chorus.
This is a great record and even their slightly out of tune vocals
seem endearing. Infomatik perfectly bridges the gap between
80's Brit-pop and whatever you want to call it in 2005. |
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