Genre/Influences: Dark-Wave, Post-Punk, Minimal-Wave.

Format: Digital, CD, Vinyl.

Background/Info: Legendary French 80s formation Norma Loy are back on track. Seven years have passed since the previous album “Baphomet” which already was a come-back album. Core members ‘Usher’ and ‘Chelsea’ joined hands together with a few guests to bring us twelve cover versions.

Content: You’ll discover cover versions of very famous artists like the unavoidable Suicide but also Minimal Compact, David Bowie, Leonard Cohen, Nico, The Velvet Underground, Tuxedomoon, Throbbing Gristle, Factrix, David Lynch, Coil and… Norma Loy. The songs have been meticulously transposed into the dark, haunting, and sometimes minimal style of Norma Loy. You easily recognize most of the songs and their original sound but they’ve been recovered with a darker touch mixing guitar and electronics.

+ + + : I mostly have reservations about cover albums but the way this opus has been accomplished is absolutely great and magical. You easily recognize songs from artists like Suicide, Throbbing Gristle and even Leonard Cohen but Norma Loy adapted the songs in their own, obscure, interpretation. From pure Post-Punk and Dark-Wave to Minimal-Wave the work is versatile and yet compact. Most of the songs are fully accomplished featuring porcelain sound treatments on top but I especially recommend listening to the subdued “Saeta” (Nico), the rough and minimal driven “Touch Me” (Suicide), the harder, Dark-Wave sounding “Romance” (which is a 2022 version from an older Norma Loy song), the good-old Dark/Cold-Wave like “A Night To Forget” (Factrix) and the somewhat Ritual-orientated “Ritual Of The Mind” (Coil).

– – – : The single cut which couldn’t convince me is the Bowie-cover “Some Are”.

Conclusion: Cover albums always are a bit of a challenge but “Ouroboros” sounds as a refreshing Dark-Wave / Post-Punk piece of music.

Best songs: “A Night To Forget”, “Touch Me”, “Ritual Of The Mind”, “Saeta”, “Romance”, “Venus In Furs”.

Rate: 8½.

Artist: www.facebook.com/NormaLoyOfficiel

Label: www.manicdepressionrecords.com / www.facebook.com/manicdepressionrecords

About Norma Loy

Norma Loy is a French formation led by Usher and vocalist Chelsea, among the most prominent French bands of the 1980s. The group stopped activity in the early 1990s, reunited for live shows in 2006 and returned to the studio with “Un/Real” (Infrastition, 2009) and “Baphomet” (Unknown Pleasures Records, 2016). “Ouroboros” follows seven years later on Manic Depression Records, an all-covers album reinterpreting Suicide, David Bowie, Leonard Cohen, Nico, The Velvet Underground, Tuxedomoon, Throbbing Gristle, Factrix, David Lynch, Coil and Norma Loy’s own back catalogue.

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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(Photo by Matt Vardy) This will interest some of you for sure. The Toronto-London ensemble, The Flowers of Hell, have announced the inaugural vinyl release of their album “Odes”, set for April 22nd in celebration of UK Record Store Day. The 180-gram red coloured vinyl will be issued through Space Age Recordings and presented in a luxurious die-cut sleeve.

The record showcases orchestral-pop interpretations of tracks by some of the group’s most admired artists, such as Joy Division, Siouxsie & the Banshees, Bob Dylan, Klaatu, Stereolab, Laurie Anderson, The Velvet Underground, and Neutral Milk Hotel. Featured on the album are Sea Power’s Neil ‘Hamilton’ Wilkinson and Abi Fry (Bat For Lashes, Sea Power), Ivo Pospíšil, a renowned figure in the Prague underground scene, and the Plastic People Of The Universe. “Odes” was recorded in Toronto and co-produced with Grammy-winning engineer Peter J. Moore (Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Joe Strummer), who also remastered the album for vinyl.

The band has now released videos of their versions of Joy Division’s “Atmosphere” and “Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft,” a song popularised by Toronto prog-rock group Klaatu (once believed to be The Beatles under a pseudonym) and later, The Carpenters. Written in the early 1970s, the song was influenced by the 1950s International Flying Saucer Society’s attempt to synchronise their global membership to telepathically transmit a specific message to extraterrestrial life, hoping for a response. “Calling Occupants” is now the official anthem of World Contact Day.

On May 12th, The Flowers of Hell will release their sixth studio album, “Keshakhtaran,” and their first in six years. The 42-minute psilocybin meditation piece, comprised of two sections, features contributions from 20 artists, including Rishi Dhir (Elephant Stone, Brian Jonestown Massacre, The Black Angels, Beck) and avant-accordion virtuoso Angel Corpus Christi (Suicide, Spiritualized, Dean Wareham). The preview single “Foray Through Keshakhtaran” is now available on digital platforms such as Apple Music, Spotify, and Bandcamp.

For more on Joy Division, see When members of Killing Joke and Joy Division collaborate you get K÷93 on Side-Line.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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(Photo by Shayna Connelly) Tomorrow, November 11th Scottish musician Chris Connelly (Revolting Cocks and Ministry) will present his new album “Eulogy to Christa: A Tribute to the Music & Mystique of Nico”, a 24-track offering released by Shipwrecked Industries in the USA and Easy Action in the UK, paying tribute to Nico – the iconic muse of The Velvet Underground. The release coincides with Connelly’s birthday.

Out today is a new video for “Femme Fatale”; the video was created by Iain W. Mutch / Walkerandwilliam in Scotland. Originally performed by Nico with The Velvet Underground, the song was originally written by Lou Reed.

Initially planned as an album of 10 Nico covers, Connelly ultimately decided to write some additional compositions, spanning her life. The Nico material spans from her first Jimmy Page-composed single and her time with The Velvet Underground to her solo recordings up until her death. Connelly musically follows her from Berlin to New York via Paris, Ibiza, and Rome, then back through Paris, London, Edinburgh, Manchester and up to her tragic death in Ibiza on 17 July 1988.

The album opens with “Ripcord, Ripcord”, which Connelly wrote surrounding a little known detail about Nico’s life – her rape by a military officer while she was a teenager holding an administrative position for the US Army.

For this album, Connelly worked with producer and long-time collaborator Chris Bruce, who is a band member of Meshell Ndegeocello and also worked with Seal, Aaron Neville, Bob Dylan, The Waterboys, My Brightest Diamond, Cheryl Crow and Sam Phillips. The album was, in part, inspired by the book “You Are Beautiful and You Are Alone” by Jennifer Otter Bickerdicke, who contributed to album liner notes, noting “This is a record to be played at full blast, all the way through, as a commemoration not just to Nico the person, the musician, but to art for art’s sake, for making something because it is important and needs to be done – an idea that is as rare and precious as Nico herself.”

You can check the tracklisting right below.

There are a few video available as well, for “Femme Fatale”, “Ripcord, Ripcord” and “Eulogy to Lenny Bruce”.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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Genre/Influences: Punk-rock.

Background/Info: British punk legends U.K. Subs are now active for more than 40 years. They belong to the collective memory of the Punks. It’s hard to compare the glorious 70s punk years with today, but the band never stopped releasing new material. They last year released “Subversions” and are now back on track with the second chapter of this ‘cover-series’.

Content: Twelve songs have been chosen and covered/adapted into the punk-rock style of the band. This opus features songs that were originally composed by The Equals, The Velvet Underground, Led Zeppelin, Joe Jackson, Donovan, The Stooges, The Kids, The Who, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Neil Young, Queen and The Rolling Stones.

+ + + : It always is a risky business and for some fans of the original artists a blasphemy to cover famous hits, but when it’s accomplished by a band such as U.K. Subs is just fun and party music. You clearly can feel they’d some fun covering these songs. Even if most of the original songs are pretty ‘rock’ like, U.K. Subs transposed them into a raw punk-rock style. I think they did a great job covering “White Light, White Heat” from The Velvet Underground and “This Is Rock ‘N’ Roll” from The Kids. I can imagine this is pure party on stage!

– – – : I’m not convinced by some of the songs and that’s maybe because some tracks feel a bit like sacred sonic anthems. I’m not convinced by their edits of Queen (cf. “We Will Rock You”) and The Rolling Stones (cf. “The Last Time”).

Conclusion: Original 70s punk music is probably dead and gone forever, but the spirit is still alive even when U.K. Subs are busy covering famous rock ‘n’ roll artists.

Best songs: “White Light, White Heat”, “This Is Rock ‘N’ Roll”, “Rockin’ In The Free World”, “One More Time”. 

Rate: (7).

Artist: www.uksubs.co.uk / www.facebook.com/UKSubs

Label: www.cleropatrarecords.com / www.facebook.com/CleopatraRecords

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

(By our Norwegian correspondent Jan Ronald Stange. Interview photos by Sigrid E. Ø. Reinertsen)
Apoptygma Berzerk, the first leading exporter of electronic music in the synth/EBM genre from Norway, are still celebrating their 25th anniversary for their debut album ‘Soli Deo Gloria’.

This time by releasing a reworked edition named ‘SDGXXV’ – already out on CD and Bandcamp, and also released on several double vinyl versions and streaming platforms April 18th. We’ve gotten some hints about the process the last year, understanding it’s been a hectic year with a lot of collaborators involved, so an interview about this was overdue. As the Apop guys lives on the opposite side of the Oslo fjord than me, we decided to meet in the middle in the ferry town Horten, where we occupied my mothers dining room for a few hours (thanks Mum!).

The release comes out in various versions which can be ordered here: CD Digipak / Tape / Cassette / MC / Two different DOUBLE-VINYL editions.

Side-Line: Was there a plan behind this rework album, and how did you end up with all these tracks and collaborators?

Stephan Groth: The short version was that the 25th anniversary for the ‘Soli Deo Gloria’ (SDG) album last year triggered it. But there’s no short versions anyway for this story, so…. First we wanted to release a 12″ maxi single with two tracks from SDG involving new, relevant musicians we like, to mark the event. This caught momentum, the list of people we wanted to work with grew and now it would be a four track EP. Everyone we asked in this process said yes and was eagerly exited.

Per Aksel Lundgreen: And when we reached 7 or 8 positive answers we decided to do the whole album – all tracks from SDG! And we still had an abundance of collaborators!

Stp: Some tracks are repeated several times on the CD version, and this led to the somewhat thematically splitting of the album, Part I, II and III, in order to distribute the songs a bit and make each part a sub-album/EP that could be listened to by itself. We also ended up in a curious situation regarding our cover of ‘All Tomorrow’s Parties’ – how to make a remix or rework of someone else’s song…?

PA: The funny thing when that situation arose was that we asked Naked Lunch to work on this song – luckily this was a favourite of theirs and the exact song they would have asked for themselves!

Stp: … and it somehow seemed destined to happen. First, we found out a Naked Lunch producer and live member also had a past in the band Sudeten Crèche, which once supported Nico on tour, and she did the vocals in The Velvet Underground’s original version of ‘All Tomorrow’s Parties’. Then we found an old flyer stating Naked Lunch also played with Nico. So there’s a connection there, making this full circle for several involved.

Someone else we must mention is Erik Wøllo, who was a very important part of making SDG in 1992-93. He released several electronic albums in the 80s and 90s before we met him.

PA: The ones on Cicada Records triggered our interest as they were on a sub-label of what was to become Tatra Records, so when we found out he had a synth studio in Fredrikstad we were quick to get in contact with him via mutual connections.

Stp: We ended up in the studio, having him helping us with technical issues and teaching us a lot, also lending us synths, drum machines and other equipment. Having access to three times more synths than we started out with helped shape SDG towards the final result, so having Erik back doing a SDGXXV track was great – and he wasn’t hard to ask either!

Erik, like Beranek and Bal Pare, hadn’t done many (or any) remixes/reworks before, so part of the collaboration became sharing my knowledge of that part of making music with them, as I’ve been doing remixes half my life.
Basically, I told them to think about how you would do this track yourself, in your style or fashion, and still keep the gist of the original.

I’d met Beranek on a few occasions, that excellent Geek Night (#1: SYNTH) at Popsenteret and a NOTAM synth meet-up, and we started thinking about doing something together.

PA: As a lead up to Stephans first meeting with Beranek it’s also worth mentioning that when Beranek curated the Norwegian Spotify list ’20+5′, where artists picks 20 favourite Norwegian tracks and 5 of their own, Beranek chose TWO Apoptygma Berzerk tracks. So, we knew already then he was a fan, and he later confirmed that at a record signing session, stating “it was to emphasize the seriousness of the situation – this is some of the best music made in Norway!”.
[Check out the list here!]

Stp: I grew up in Denmark and never got the initial buzz of Beraneks breakthrough single ‘Dra til hælvete’, which cause a lot of fuss and were banished from Norwegian radio in the 80s. Hearing it years later, I was yearning to do a remix for it, but Todd Terje beat me to it. As I considered Beraneks debut album as the first Norwegian synth album, and I’m a fan, it made sense to invite him to collaborate on SDGXXV.
‘Arp’ was one of the tracks not picked yet when Beranek was to be invited, and after I’ve listened to Beraneks album ‘Sound of danger’ on vinyl I accidentally had the record player set to 45 RPM, not 33 RPM, when I wanted to hear ‘Can’t go to sleep’. That gave me some ideas which I pitched to Beranek, and a week later I got his beautiful version in return.

The whole album was made this way, not just as another remix album, but more like reworking the tracks with others, me contributing more than in usual remix settings, so we have deliberately avoided using the work “remix” at all for this project.

PA: And “rework” is definitely fitting, because about 50% of the old tapes and discs were unusable, some even found moldy after being stored in lofts and cellars for years, so a lot had to be re-created.

Stp: The earliest work was made on Atari floppies and cassette tapes, maybe a DAT for the final masters, media not so easy to access in this digital age. Combined with several relocations and storing this in various environments we found a lot had to be made from scratch again, borrowing samplers, trying to read old diskettes and so on. And even the vocals had to be redone, and as I wasn’t an English professor 25 years ago, I also had to recreate grammatical errors, making it as true to the original as possible.

PA: There was lots of feedback going back and forth to the collaborators, something that became a fun part of the project, seeing the music making evolve like this.

Stp: … and that’s also why it took so long to finish! Adding to the process itself, much of the people involved aren’t exactly your average people , so it was sometimes demanding to incorporate everyone’s working methods, available hours etc.

S-L: When and how did this project start?

Stp: I know exactly when: It started in January 2018, when Ole-Espen had booked Ancient Methods to play at The Villa in Oslo. I remembered seeing them streamed live from a Boiler Room event in Berlin, mixing hard techno with old EBM, something that made a lot of sense to me. I wanted to have an Ancient Methods remix, and during an Indian dinner I explained my ideas, something Michael Wollenhaupt really turned on to. That was the first confirmed collaborator for SDGXXV.

PA: Then we thought about asking The Invincible Spirit, I sent an e-mail to Thomas Lüdke, got a positive reply, and from that point on the ball really got rolling.

Stp: After that it’s been a lot of work – music, the cover, everything – more or less a year.

PA: Another special thing for us regarding the 25th anniversary is how some parts around us haven’t changed; Tatra Records are involved again, both with the SDG re-issue and SDGXXV, just as they were with the original 25 years ago. Halvor Bodin, the designer of the original cover, worked with us on the new cover too. Morten Lund from Masterhuset did the mastering yet again, Erik Wællo got involved again, and of course Stephan and I are still here. A reunion bringing us all together again!

Stp: Yes, that really brought forward a kind of trueness that made the whole project feel even more “right” for all of us. As SDG was the first Norwegian EBM record, which opened a lot of doors for other Norwegian bands, doing this now felt important. But it’s also been a tiresome process that I don’t see myself repeating anytime soon, so don’t expect a the same treatment for ‘7’ 😉

PA: We paved way for others with SDG, making Norwegian bands eligible for records companies, distributors, concert promotors and so on, in a time where electronic music wasn’t very appreciated. We had some backing from people in the Norwegian music industry. Worth mentioning among these are Helge Gaarder, a musician who also distributed money from Rikskonsertene, which made it possible for us to have our first concerts.

Stp: Someone else we hold in high regards is Arvid Skancke-Knutsen, a music journalist who’s been writing about us from the very start – and even had an extensive review of our first maxi single!

S-L: Any favorites among the tracks?

Stp: … that’s a hard one -– there are favorites all over the place! The Beranek version of ‘Arp’ is just so beautiful, Ancient Methods’ ‘Burning Heretic’ is outstanding, and Bal Pare’s ‘Ashes To Ashes’ is insane – so far from the original in the minimal wave soundscape. But really, I’m so happy with all the tracks, couldn’t ask for anything better.

PA: What I found exiting is that Alex Dahl from Atropine, when asked which track he’d like to work in, answered ‘Borrowed Time’, which isn’t even on the album, but as the B-side of the ‘Bitch’ single. His version really blew me away!

Stp: Alex is a genius – amazingly good at what he does, and I think he’s not getting the credit he deserves in Norway.

S-L: How has the interest for SDGXXV been so far?

PA: SDG have had several reissues, but always on CD, so having it on vinyl now is long overdue. Pre-sales have been OK, but can’t really tell before after the release April 18th. Check the links below to get your copy!

Stp: Next up is my very delayed “normal” studio album, which has been put on hold for years now. Partly due to personal reasons, but also some musical reasons, which led to the “Exit Popularity Contest” album, something I needed to do to get back to my roots. And finally, this project, which really grew beyond expectations – from a couple of tracks to an four track EP, and finally an extensive album. The songs for the next album are written, some new inputs need to be digested into what kind of music I want to play. Both of my latest releases give hints of my future direction, going back to the more analogue roots of the music I like, using many of the same instruments as my heroes from the 70s. I’m very thankful now that I’ve hoarded synths for the past 30 years!

After hearing Stephans and Per Aksels stories about the making of SDGXXV, inputs from some of the collaborators felt natural to include here.
Say what you want about Facebook, but undeniable a great place to get in touch with people. I sent some messages asking about their relationship or history with Apop, also about the process and collaboration with Stephan on this project, and got great responses in return!

Espen Beranek: ARP (No Sleep Mix by Beranek)

I’ve been a longtime fan of Apop, and was very flattered to be asked for a contribution on SGDXXV.

I got both audio and MIDI stems from Stephan, and he told me I was free to change both pitch and tempo if I wanted to. I (and Stephan too I think) wanted to tint this version with some tonal colours from my early works. I therefore started to experiment with the MIDI stems together with my old non-midi equipment like the Korg KR55 rhythm box and my old trusty PE-1000. It became obvious to me that I needed to slow down the pace in the song in order to make space for my tonal intentions. After hearing my first edit Stephan got inspired and he sent me some fresh vocal tracks with some spacey effects. They fitted in perfectly and from there on it was kind of a simple edit/mix job.

Tony Mayo, Naked Lunch: All Tomorrow`s Parties (Evolve Or Die Mix by Naked Lunch)

We have been FB friends with Stephan for several years and not only have we known Per, (an original Apop member) for years, we have met him in person, and he was our tour manager when we toured with Covenant in 2015. Per is a personal and professional friend.

Per got in touch and asked if we would do a remix for the album and gave us a choice of which track to do. We are massive Velvet Underground fans, loved the Apop cover, and reworking ‘All Tomorrows Parties’ was a work of love for us. Funnily enough, back in the 80’s, within a few days of Naked Lunch headlining the Venue in Victoria, both Nico and John Cale headlined on separate nights too.

Håvard Ellefsen, Mortiis: Walk With Me (FRXTA Skyline Mix by Mortiis)

I´ve had some collaborations with Stephan from time to time since 2003 or so, and it´s always been a pleasure. He´s got this high energy approach to music that I really like.
Of course, since we live on the same street, he knew I´d burn his house down if he didn´t include me on this album. Haha!

Jarle Hansen, Substaat: Bitch (Weil Mix by Substaat)

I didn’t discover Apop until I heard ‘Kathy’s Song’ on Norwegian radio, even though I lived only 30 km away or so. It was a great experience to discover that “this sound” had survived through the harsh conditions of the 90s, when a lot of my favorite bands turned industrial, rock or techno. Apop has been a great influence both for the sound and for the strong melodies since.

I was told that we were asked to do this collaboration with Apop because Stephan liked our version of ‘Circling Overland’. He liked that old school sound in a modern production. We had a close communication and ideas were sent back and forth. Besides vocal, Stephan contributed with the cold industrial choir and the vocoded voice rumbling in the background – and, of course, general “guidance”. Anyone knowing Stephan, knows that nothing is left to chance.

alx, Atropine: Borrowed Time (Sublime Mix by Atropine)

The story behind the remix of ‘Borrowed time’ goes back to 1991 when I was working on various projects and we listened to Stephan’s 1st release ‘Ashes to ashes’. We played that record to dust. Later came the single ‘Bitch’. ‘Borrowed Time’ was my favorite on that release, I was thrilled to be able to remix that particular song since I think it’s one of the best songs from that period, and it only exists on that single. Stephan was for a period having a studio next door in Oslo, and that’s how I got to know him.

When I received the file it was only as a mp3. I wasn’t able to work with that, so in order to make the remix I had to recreate the song again from scratch. I recorded the exact song, and Stephan had to sing on it again and record the vocals. Once the song was recreated in its original form I could finally start to take it apart again and add my personal musical view to it. While Stephan gave some musical input during the process I often decided to do the opposite – and he even liked it much better! We had good communication during the process, and I ended up sending 2 different versions.

Steven R. Sellick: Like Blood From The Beloved (Part 1) (Interpreted by Steven R. Sellick)

I moved to the synth capital of Norway, Fredrikstad, in ’92. Stephan worked at a record store 3 minutes from my flat, and we soon bonded over our mutual love for shoegaze and synth music.
We also shared a fondness for beer and dancing to 2 Unlimited in crappy discos. I remember him working on Soli Deo Gloria, I loved listening to the tracks as they evolved.

Stephan approached me and told about his idea for SDGXXV. I was honored to be asked, and I especially liked the fact that he wasn’t looking for a remix. He gave me a bunch of old midi files and I re-recorded and re-arranged the track using old synths and drum machines. He wanted a certain German vibe and I think we nailed it.

Ole-Espen Kristiansen: Stitch (Patched & Processed by O/E)

I met STP around 12 years ago, we have become very close friends and work partners. We have the exactly same taste and understanding of electronic music and music in general so we work very good together creatively. The story in a whole is way too long…

I chose ‘Stitch’ to remix since I love the bassline and vibe in the original track. I wanted to do a more modern club friendly version, but still keep some of the “old school” Apop vibe to it. A lot of the noisy atmos and effect loops in the track are heavy processed parts from an 128k MP3 file of the original track.
Besides that STP and I had close talks through the whole process with compiling the album, adjusting some mixes, some mastering details etc.

As music journalist Arvid Skancke-Knutsen also was mentioned as being there from the very start, his input would be a perfect closing to this story.

Arvid:

I was working at the Norwegian music monthly Puls Magazine at the time. I was probably the first mainstream writer to pay them any attention, in connection with the release of the ‘Ashes To Ashes’ twelve inch. I liked their attitude and their enthusiasm, and also truly enjoyed the music itself, which was very original and energetic compared to the music scene in Norway. Since then I have been following them pretty closely, enjoying many records and concerts along the way.

Apop is also very present on the net and digital platforms – choose your poison! 🙂

Homepage / Bandcamp#1 / Bandcamp#2 / European Webstore / US Webstore / Songkick (Tourdates) / Spotify / iTunes / Instagram / Twitter / YouTube

Jan Ronald Stange

Sometimes – when I’m not cooking, biking, listening to music or attending concerts, I write stuff for Side-Line.com. Mostly about Norwegian bands, but it’s been some Swedish, English, American, Danish, German and others too… 😉

www.facebook.com/jrstange

Genre/Influences: Gothic, rock-wave.

Background/Info: Set up in 1991 Ikon has been often considered as one of the Australian gothic pioneers. They can look back at an impressive discography. This work brings us back to the early hours of the band, back in 1992 when they were composing and recording their debut 7”. Due to different circumstances the single became quite different from the initial purpose. Eight songs have been composed, which have been released on the first disc while the second disc is a live recording from 1992 in Melbourne.

Last, but not least I also have to say that this album is featuring the original singer of the band Michael Aliani who later on set up Chiron.

Content: The first disc is an opportunity to (re)discover the first recorded and released Ikon songs “Why” and “As Time Goes By”, but also Reality Is Lost” (which got released on their next single). The music is inspired by the darkest hours of the 80s new/cold-wave movement and might appeal for lovers of Joy Division. The songs are pretty dark, sometimes achieved with synth parts and always masterly carried by Chris McCarter’s great guitar playing.

The second disc is a selection of live songs and other (hidden) cuts. This concert happened in the same period as the single so you’ll get back the same songs, but now live. And there are six hidden cuts featuring cover versions of The velvet Underground and The Stooges.

+ + + : This album is truly a testimony from the past and a kind of Ikon legacy today. It’s really fun and pure pleasure to rediscover the forgotten songs from the first hours in Ikon’s history. Great guitar parts and charismatic vocals are bringing the 80s spirit and especially Joy Division back to life. This is pure nostalgia, but still the work of a band that would become a reference in gothic music and one of the major Australian underground formations in history. The songs have been remixed and remastered.

– – – : This album has been previously released in 2007 (Equinoxe Records) as a single disc featuring the studio songs plus 4 live cuts. We now get the complete live show from 1992 in Melbourne plus extra hidden songs. It’s a pity there’s no tracklist available of the hidden cuts and no info about it.

Conclusion: This album is a must have for the die-hard fans, but if you simply like Ikon and/or gothic music it’s also worthy of examination. Ikon maybe never got the deserved recognition in Europe, but it remains a great formation.

Best songs: “The Lost”, “Fear”, “Alone”, “Reality Is Lost”.

Rate: (7).

Artist: www.ikondomain.com / www.facebook.com/IKONOfficial

Label: www.darkvinyl.de / www.facebook.com/darkvinylrecords

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