808 Dot Pop – Pop Radio FM 88.2 (Album – Alfa Matrix)
Genre/Influences: Electro-Pop.
Format: CD.
Background/Info: Nearly three years after the promising debut album “The Colour Temperature”, Metroland’s ‘Passenger S” strikes back with a new album of his solo-project 808 Dot Pop. It’s a conceptual work devoted to the magic of crystal radio and related themes. But there’s a kind of concept behind the concept as three album have been released; two on CD format and one as digital work. Each album is related to a frequency, FM, AM and MW.A few songs have been written together with Gary Hunter (Kraftman).
Content: 808 Dot Pop remains driven by the retro robotic style of Metroland although this project sounds ‘poppier’ and more accessible. The songs are carried by low, dark, bass lines mixed with melodic tunes and the unavoidable computer voices dealing with the concept. All songs have been mixed like a true radio broadcasting. Two songs are featuring real vocals by Lis Van Den Akker -who already contributed to the single “Suncatcher”.
+ + + : The concept is great and I salute the intelligence it has been transposed into this album. The booklet gives us brief, but essential information about topics related to the concept. It has a strong retro-like feeling which also comes back in the sound treatments. The robotic music becomes pretty accessible by its melodic side and danceable rhythms. I personally prefer 808 Dot Pop to the latest Metroland’s releases for being more polished, poppy and globally more accessible.
– – – : I like the music and I like the heavenly voice of Lis Van Den Akker but I’m not totally convinced both are matching. I would have liked a more sterile timbre of voice.
Conclusion: 808 Dot Pop strikes back in style dealing with a fascinating concept and simply good Electro-Pop.
Best songs: “Heinrich Hertz”, “RCA AR-812”, “Capacitor”, “Österreich 3”.
Rate: 7½.
Artist: https://808dotpop.com / www.facebook.com/808dotpop
Label: www.alfa-matrix.com / www.facebook.com/Alfa.Matrix
About 808 Dot Pop
808 Dot Pop is the solo electro-pop side-project of Metroland’s Passenger S, signed to Alfa Matrix. The debut album, “The Colour Temperature”, followed three singles, “Blackbodies – pulsation”, “Blackbodies – variation” and “Jingle Pop”, and was released in 2020 on CD and via Bandcamp, with the download edition including an exclusive 20-minute megamix. Nearly three years later, the crystal-radio-themed “Pop Radio” project arrived on 25 March 2023 in three variants, “FM 88.2”, “AM 1350” and the download-only “MW720”, each featuring contributions from KRAFTman and guest vocals by Lis van den Akker. The project includes a cover of OMD’s “Radio Waves”, recorded with permission from Andy McCluskey.
Support Side-Line
More people read Side-Line than ever, and there is still no paywall and no advertising. Readers pay for it instead - from $5 a month.
Why we ask
Advertising revenues across the media are falling fast. Unlike many news organisations we have not put up a paywall, and we refuse to add annoying advertising, so we need to ask for your help. Side-Line’s independent journalism takes time, money and hard work to produce, and we do it to push the artists we like, who are equally fighting to survive.
Handled by PayPal.
I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.
