Track Listing: Drop, Trump Card, Gonna Be, Anywhere But Here, Frustratrix, Real Enough, Not Alone, Thing For Tragedy, Counting Stars, The Easy Way.

I’ve been eager to hear a new synthpop act that doesn’t sound incredibly overproduced and/or futuristic, and I believe I’ve found it. Delica’s latest offering, Poison of Preference may have a nice shine to its ten tracks, but I reckon there’s a few analog synths mixed in with a more modern edge that gives the record a deeper, grittier sound that is much appreciated by these ears. Well, if they aren’t analog synths, they’re well-executed all the same.

Meanwhile, vocal hooks sit comfortably at the helm of these tracks, both male and female, as guitars occasionally push the synths and vocal harmonies even higher. The standout track is clearly opening number “Drop”, as I’m occasionally reminded of some of my favorite italo disco classics, as well as Camouflage and Clan of Xymox’s earlier material. Though no track tickles my fancy as much as “Drop”, (which I must confess, I’ve listened to three times in a row before moving on) there are still a few fine numbers thoughout the record, including “Trump Card”, a more abrasive number and “Not Alone,” which seethes with infectious darkwave energy.

The record seems to grow more intrusive and coarse as it reaches its conclusion, yet retains a constantly catchy pulse, making Poison of Preference an ever-changing, yet consistent offering that may tickle the fancies of fans of both severe electronics and synthetic hooks.

For more information, check out their website or Myspace Page.

Track Listing: A Nation Fit For Heroes, Under The Wheels, Dr. Woofenstein, Shallow Diamonds, Since I Met You, A Danger To Yourself, Maid For Pleasure, Perfect Sunday, Nature’s Dark Passion, Little Miss Disaster, Just Hangin’, Nothing, Dark Asteroid.

So, Who’s Paranoid? begins so much like a classic Damned record, it’s hard to believe that it just dropped in late 2008. In fact, I didn’t know what to expect from the reactivated punk band, as I’ve lost touch with their output since the days of Phantasmagoria and The Black Album, despite a handful of comeback records and nostalgia-laced tours in between.

However, the band are in fine form on this record. So, Who’s Paranoid? differs from their earliest days in regards to sheer musicianship, as the rickety song structures of their initial inception (arguably their biggest strength/weakness) are gone. Each of the album’s thirteen tracks are held together with far superior technique, without sacrificing the band’s heart and soul in the slightest.

Though this record, complete with Captain Sensible’s solid guitar work and Dave Vanian’s signature sneer and croon, may nod to their more peak-period records, The Damned’s knack for psychedelic experimentation is in full effect on So, Who’s Paranoid?, to mixed effect. “Dr. Woofenstein”, for example, is chock full of pomp and circumstance seldom heard since the Moody Blues’ heyday, a tired and hokey sound which is unfortunately carried over into the similarly styled “Since I Met You”. Meanwhile, one of the album’s biggest standouts is the theremin driven “Nature’s Dark Passion”, which triggers a beautiful ballad from one of the world’s most enigmatic instruments. The album also concludes on a rather conspicuous thirteen minute epic, the psychedelic “Dark Asteroid”, which is every bit as dirty and otherworldly as its title suggests.

In the end, it’s the standard punk rave-ups that stand out the strongest on So, Who’s Paranoid?, including the previously issued single “Little Miss Disaster” and “Nothing”, which invokes Machine Gun Etiquette’s organ-driven edge. Though the Damned seem to have fallen into a ritual habit of unconvincing nostalgia over the years, So Who’s Paranoid shows that this classic band still has quite a bit to offer.

For more information, check out their website or Myspace Page.

Track Listing: A Faery Tale, Pictures of You, All This Love, Where Did My Heart Go, Haunted.

Gifts In Secret seem to wear their influences on their sleeves. Whether it be The Cure’s shimmering middle period work or the lighter tones of the resurgent 90s shoegaze movement, the band’s latest EP, All This Love doesn’t seem to cover a slew of new ground.

However, that’s not necessarily a complaint, as fans of either of these sounds will find much to love on the EP, chock full of five driving, glistening, hook driven tracks. The sound is surprisingly clear and crisp, allowing Beth Bradley’s vocals ample headroom to be heard. However, my only true gripe with the EP is the vocals themselves, while though nicely audible in a genre notorious for burying the human voice in a endless pit of reverb, don’t seem to strike me with any sense of urgency or fire. This is most noticeable on the second track, a cover of The Cure’s “Pictures of You”, which manages to capture a similar magic in the music, but lacks the essential vocal delivery. Such is the risk in covering a classic and ubiquitous tune, I imagine.

That said, the clear winner on All This Love is the title track, which is infectious as sin, with both a steady bass and guitar line anchoring an otherwise passionate romp. I’d certainly be curious to hear more tracks in this vein, as I hear hordes of potential in this track. Perhaps in time, the charisma of this eponymous track will ignite the spark necessary to propel Gifts In Secret among their peers.

For more information, check out the Fossil Dungeon website or their Myspace Page.

Track Listing: Lit From Within, Merge, Hunt For The Heart, Confidence Trick, Was I Not Your Muse?, Shock Of It All, After The Gold Rush, Vespers, Somniloquy, Rosabelle: Answer-Tell.

California-based duo The Endless’ latest record, Somniloquy, is every bit as appropriate as its title. The word itself refers to the condition of talking in one’s sleep, and each of the album’s ten tracks seem invoke similar mysteries.  These tracks are dream-laced, echo-ridden, and haunting, casting a rather heavy atmosphere that does not let up over the course of the record. Meanwhile, the album’s striking cover reminds me of early spirit photography, a delicious image that ties in nicely with the album’s title and sonic template.

I’m pleasantly reminded of several larger players covering similar ground, including the likes of Portishead and early-era Goldfrapp. As with each of these bands, Endless features a rather prominent and strong female vocalist by the name of Adriana Roze, who can seamlessly jump between cautious whispers and operatic bombast, but relies solely on neither. 

Curiously, one of the album’s standout tracks is a cover of Neil Young’s “After the Gold Rush”, which is hardly a recognizable affair, but instead, the band spins their craft and transforms it into something just as magical. “Lit From Within”, the album’s opening number and “Vespers” also stand out strongly, but as each track covers similar sonic territory, it becomes difficult to differentiate, which is by no means a complaint.  I’m personally a fan of a unified record, and in this, Somniloquy has certainly succeded. 

For more information, check out their website or their Myspace Page.