Vlimmer – XII (CD EP – Blackjack Illuminist Records)
Genre/Influences: Wave-pop, electro-wave, gothic.
Background/Info: The twelfth EP in the series of eighteen set up by Vlimmer comes together with number eleven. Alexander Leonard Donat brings us five more new songs
Content: I now have already heard several EP’s from this series and I’ve to say that I now easily recognize the ‘Vlimmer-sound’. There always is a solid 80s connotation, which this time is mixing elements of electro-pop, fuzzy guitar parts and a more atmospheric approach. The songs are once again sung in German.
+ + + : The influences remain the same-old and getting the listener back to the 80s legacy. But Vlimmer adds a personal touch on top, which at “XII” sounds maybe colder than other releases. I get the impression the production is progressively evolving towards a darker/colder style, which I like. I also like the more cold-wave sounding “Zerschmetterung” for the somewhat shoegaze-like guitar play.
– – – : No real hit –here again, on this new EP, but fully enjoyable cuts. The EP-series is ambitious and original, but I also hope that we one day will get a full length album and why not a kind of ‘best of’ from this series.
Conclusion: If you like 80s electro-wave you definitely have to discover Vlimmer, which remains an interesting formation in this music genre with an extra and personal touch on top.
Best songs: “Zerschmetterung”, “Krakenkombat”.
Rate: (7).
Artist: www.facebook.com/VlimmerMusic
Label: www.facebook.com/Blackjack.Illuminist
About Vlimmer
Vlimmer is the project of German musician, producer, label owner, visual artist, and author Alexander Leonard Donat, released on his own label Blackjack Illuminist Records. Between 2015 and the end of 2020, Donat issued an eighteen-part EP series for the project, mixing Shoegaze, Dark-Pop, and Dark-Wave influences.
In a Click Interview with Side-Line, Donat described Vlimmer’s origin: “In 2015 I no longer tried to involve anything in my music that would please an audience, I simply made something that was 100% the music I wanted to make: a dark and bleak version of Shoegaze.” Vlimmer later released a debut album in 2021, the single “Noposition/1979” in 2022, and the album “Zerschöpfung” in 2023.
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