Genre/Influences: EBM, experimental.

Format: Digital, CD, Vinyl.

Background/Info: Jack Duckworth (JJD) is born in Canada, but has been residing in Glasgow (Scotland) for a few years. He set up his own label, Possession Records, and now unleashed the seventh album of his project.

Content: I honestly haven’t been that much impressed with the previous works of this artist. This new work has been announced as an evolution in production and sound. I indeed discovered a somewhat different creating a gap with the previous electro-pop inspired work. This opus is driven by minimalism and a rather experimental format of EBM. The retro touch of Soft Riot is still recognizable and reminds me now and then to The Human League, but I especially noticed a kind of experimental EBM approach. The experimental touch is created by a sort of sound chaos, Soft Riot avoids to elaborate explicit melody lines.

+ + + : There clearly is an evolution in sound, which I’ve to admit is not easy to seize. The songs are driven by a kind of sonic chaos where JJD reveals himself as a kind of imaginary sound scientist. This music could have been composed in a sonic laboratory instead of a studio. So it’s not that of coincidence one of my favorite cuts is the more cohesive “By The Skin Of Your Teeth”, which evokes to me the legendary “Brothers”-hit from DAF. Another noticeable song is “Your Work Is Never Done”, which also has something ‘classical’-like.

– – – : I’m still not a huge fan of Jack Duckworth’s vocal skills, being too monotonous. The songs are also missing a bit of cohesion remaining pretty experimental-like.

Conclusion: Soft Riot’s has experimented with new ideas and even if the entire album is not convincing, this is already the best I’ve heard from this artist.

Best songs: “By The Skin Of Your Teeth”, “You Work Is Never Done”.

Rate: (6½).

Artist: www.softriot.com / www.facebook.com/softriot

Label: www.possessionrecords.com / www.facebook.com/possessionrecords

Inferno Sound Diaries

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.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Electro-wave, wave-pop.

Background/Info: This is the sixth full length by Soft Riot. Driven by the creative spirit of Canadian artist Jack Duckworth (JJD) the artist is now based in Glasgow (Scotland) where together with a few other artists he set up Possession Records.

Content: The sound format and inspiration haven’t really changed since the previous album “You Never Know What Might Come Next”. This is a move back to the 80s and the wave-pop style of Soft Riot might remind you of bands such as Thomas Dolby, Scitti Politti ao. The songs were composed by great vintage electro sounds bringing the truly 80s spirit back alive. While the vocals were more half spoken on previous work, we now get a more sung approach.

+ + + : Vintage electronics don’t have anything innovating and yet there always is this kind of magic, which sounds refreshing and more sophisticated. This album reveals great electronic treatments and impressive strings. I also enjoyed the dry snare drums, which are once more typically 80s-like. Sound-wise this album is a little jewel in the genre.

– – – : My only regret about this work is the production of the vocals. I’m missing passion and simply conviction in the global performance. Vocals are important and are sometimes ruining a part of the song when they aren’t accurate.

Conclusion: I have double feelings about this album: I really like the music and its retro approach, but the vocals can’t convince me at any single moment.

Best songs: “He’s Gone Underground”, “The Outsider In The Mirrors”.

Rate: (6).

Artist: www.softriot.com / www.facebook.com/softriot

Label: www.possessionrecords.com / www.facebook.com/possessionrecords

Inferno Sound Diaries

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.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Wave-pop, electro-pop.

Background/Info: Born in Canada, but based in England, Soft Riot clearly sounds inspired by good-old 80s electro tunes. The band has released a considerable amount of productions in a rather short lapse of time. This is the 4th official album of Soft Riot and the first one on Exhibition Records.

Content: From the very first notes it sounds crystal-clear from where Soft Riot has got its inspiration. The typical analogue vibes bring us back to some 80s artists. There’s a move in between more wave-pop driven influences, which are sometimes reminding me of Thomas Dolby and a more experimental, but awesome side evoking the early years of Front 242.

The songs have been written with typical deep bass lines and magic synthesizer lines revealing icy sound layers. The somewhat half-spoken vocals totally match with the music. The work of Soft Riot will clearly evoke great souvenirs from an electro decade remaining the source of all electro-underground music.

+ + + : This album gets us back to the early essence of 80s electro-wave music, which has been adapted into a real exciting format.

– – – : A few songs can’t really emerge from the tracklist for being a little bit too flat and without real substance.

Conclusion: “You Never Know What Might Come Next” is not exactly what I would call a prophetic title as the main sources of inspiration are clearly bringing us back into the past! Soft Riot sounds like it is in the grip of the magic of the 80s electronic music and that’s pretty damn cool!

Best songs: “There Is Some Great Evil Out There”, “You Are A Caged Dancer”, “The Speech”.

Rate: (DP:6½)DP.

Band: www.softriot.com / www.facebook.com/softriot

Label: www.exbtnrecords.com / www.facebook.com/Exhibition-Records-1610367805917832

Inferno Sound Diaries

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.

www.side-line.com