Genre/Influences: Electro, Industrial, IDM.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Russian duo The-Pulsar is back on track, releasing their first new album in nine years. “Pathetics” is the band’s third official full length, again released on Advoxya Records.

Content: I would describe this album as a Russian alternative to Haujobb. There’s a similar taste for intelligent Electronics, mixing sophisticated sound treatments, great atmospheres and rhythms. The songs are cold, complex, but accessible.

+ + + : “Pathetics” is a well-crafted and elaborated production. The songs have been meticulously built up, often being pretty extended and also evolving into a few true sound climaxes. Both debut songs reveal this intelligent approach, but I would especially recommend listening to “Someone”. This song sounds more danceable and features amazing strings right at the end. Another attention grabber is “Run”, which confirms the band’s sophisticated writing although it remains a pretty accessible song.

– – – : The single aspect that could be improved is the production of the vocals.

Conclusion: The-Pulsar strikes back with a genius and visionary piece of Electronics.

Best songs: “Someone”, “Run”, “Grim Desire”, “Never Disappear”.

Rate: 8½.

Artist: www.the-pulsar.com / www.facebook.com/ThePulsar

Label: www.advoxya-records.com / www.facebook.com/pages/Advoxya-Records/265765706059

About The-Pulsar

The-Pulsar is an EBM and electro-industrial project from Saint Petersburg, Russia, formed in 1996 under the name The Pulsar, according to its Discogs profile, which lists Sergey Naan, Vladimir Sokoushin and Alexey Boytsov as members. The Hungarian label Advoxya released the EP “Re-Wakening” (2006), the remastered album “Revolution (Reloaded)” (2007), “Never” (2008) and “Transformation Of The Flight” (2012), all on CD. The band also remixed acts such as Holocoder and Id Molotov and appeared on the Advoxya compilation series “Post Alcoholic Body Syndrome”.

“Pathetics” was issued on CD by Advoxya in a four-panel digiwallet and as a download. Discogs dates the CD to 7 June 2021; the Advoxya Bandcamp page dates the release to 11 July 2021. The eleven tracks are “Never Disappear”, “Grim Desire”, “Light On Face”, “Someone”, “Opened”, “Brave And Free”, “Show Your Light”, “Run”, “On The Taling Off”, “Hit The Road In Peace” and “Reflection”; Discogs prints the fourth track as “Something”. The-Pulsar wrote, composed, programmed, recorded, mixed and produced the album, Slava Arkhipov mastered it and Alexey Kozhevnikov made the artwork. The Bandcamp credits name only Boytsov for the 2021 lineup, and the CD is dedicated to the memory of Sergey Naan.

After “Pathetics” the project self-released a series of Russian-language singles from 2024, the EP “Триста Лет” (2025) and the single “Смейся” on ScentAir Records (2026). “Pathetics” is the band’s first Side-Line review.

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.

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