The Neon Judgement – Blue Screens 1995-2009 (Album – Je M’En Fish)
Genre/Influences: Cold-Wave, Dark-Wave, Electro.
Format: Digital, Vinyl.
Background/Info: No need to introduce The Neon Judgement belonging to the collective memory of 80s Cold-Wave/EBM fans. Their biggest hits were released in the 80s. This album is a fine selection from tracks originally released in between 1995 and 2009. It features songs from three albums that were released on different labels during the post-Play It Again Sam (PIAS)-era. We get ten songs from the albums “At Devil’s Fork” (1995, Synthetic Symphony), “Dazsoo” (1998, KK Records) and “Smack” (2009, LC Music). These songs have been re-mastered and for the very first time released on vinyl format.
Content: This work is an opportunity to (re)-discover ‘late’ stuff from The Neon Judgement, the band having definitely taken some distance with their early, 80s, sound and becoming more open-minded, like experimenting with new genres and influences. But in the end that’s what the Belgian masters always did. The songs are still driven by icy synths but mixing Minimal-Electro together with Funky vibes, Dance tunes and Technoid influences and even Dubby elements.
+ + + : This selection of tracks aren’t the best exposure from this legendary formation although you easily recognize the Neon Judgement-touch in the icy leads/synths, the vocals and the open-minded style. It was really fun rediscovering “Serve” which evokes to me the Electronic version of Public Enemy but also the Dub vibes emerging at “Turki”. I also like “Shiny Happiness” and the more renowned “The Great Consumer” for the excellent synth lines.
– – – : “TV Treated” remains one of my all-time favorites from the band and 80s Electro-Wave music but the remix/edit from 1995 featured at this album is a true antithesis to the original version.
Conclusion: A cool record for the band’s die-hard fans.
Best songs: “Serve”, “The Great Consumer”, “Turki”, “Shiny Happiness”, “We Are Confused”.
Rate: 7½.
Artist:www.theneonjudgement.com / www.facebook.com/TheNeonJudgeMent
Label: www.facebook.com/JemenfishBE
Side-Line reported on “Blue Screens” when the compilation was announced in October 2023.
Listen to “Blue Screens”:
About The Neon Judgement
The Neon Judgement was founded in the early 1980s in Brussels by Dirk Timmermans, known as Dirk Da Davo, and Frank Vloeberghs, known as TB Frank. During the 1990s the duo changed labels several times, releasing “At Devil’s Fork” on Synthetic Symphony in 1995, “Dazsoo” on KK Records in 1998, and “Smack” on LC Music/Dancedelic-D in 2009. “Blue Screens 1995-2009” gathers ten remastered tracks from those three albums, released via Je M’en Fish Records on 5 November 2023 as a 180-gram vinyl edition in three colors. Earlier the same year, Dirk Da Davo released the solo album “Retrospective 1987-2023”, and Je M’en Fish reissued The Neon Judgement’s “PIAS 40” vinyl.
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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