Walter Meego: Voyager
(Almost Gold/Sony)
release: May 27, 2008
style: dance electronic pop
similar: Fischerspooner, MGMT, Cut Copy, Datarock, Air
[rating: ****] Walter Meego (essentially Justin Sconza and Colin Yarck) is the latest electro-dance-pop act with an overload of cool synth sounds. They are setting the night on fire, with hot trax heard on Ugly Betty and gigging with VHS or Beta. Voyager includes the simplistic but catchy "Girls" and "Forever," which is already one of the top underground dance songs of 2008. From Chicago and now Californi-way, they're as much fun as Junior Senior or Datarock, while not afriad to be dark in otherworldly places like "Keyhole," which has a compressed synth-guitar solo that launches the guitars of the eagles' "Hotel California" into the future. -Kenyon
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Combichrist: Frost EP- Sent to Destroy
(Metropolis)
release: July 8, 2008
style: aggro-industrial dance
[rating: **] Combichrist (Andy from the less harsh Icon of Coil) had one of the biggest dark-dance club anthems of the last few years with the sexually-charged machinery pounding "This Shit Will Fcuk You Up." It isn't going to be topped on this Frost EP. Dammit. We get two songs with three remixes of each plus an instrumental. The original mix of "Prince Of E-Ville" is bland, though we get some spooky scary remixes. Not too exciting or recognizable for the dancefloor. "The Kill" is like Icon's "Floorkiller" or VNV Nation's "Ascension" in that it's a long instrumental that has sweeping deep synth and hard beats. -Kenyon
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Hour of the Shipwreck: The Hour is Upon Us (self-released)
release: now
style: pretentious art rock
[rating: *] If Radiohead was enslaved in a dark sci-fi fantasy land, it would resemble something like Hour of the Shipwreck. The Los Angeles collective was largely influenced by Lord of the Rings and Hour is Upon Us feels as long as one of those films. This convoluted prog debut requires mad patience that i don't have. It's like watching Lady in the Water. Yea, i went there. -Kenyon