Canada’s Electric Voice is gathering a head of steam. A new album from Xeno and Oaklander is in the pipeline but first a follow-up to 2012’s Electric Voice Compilation.
A string of top-notch synthesizer zealots have been brought together across two slabs and ten tracks. The globe has been scanned with artists hailing from the focal points of Synth Wave, American and Europe. Veterans of the sound sit next the avant-garde. Thee Majesty open and unsettle before Martial Canterel arrives for a piece of dejected Industrial. The unmistakable ADN’ Ckrystall follows with “Der Stasi Palace” before the maestro, Martin Dupont, offers the fluctuating tones of “Bit of a Smile.” Quality is laid atop quality. Tropic of Cancer, of Mannequin and Blackest Ever Black, deliver a moody piece of sullen synth while Frank (just Frank) serve up guitar rich exuberance. A plethora of styles are explored across the two records. Ike Yard introduce a deeper, more ambient, work of post-industrial proportions. Belgium’s Vita Noctis are back in the studio these days, creating new compositions for a new era. “Serial Killer” courses with the same rhythmic melancholy that characterized the group’s early music, even something of Das Ding’s “RHST” to the track. Brilliant to see this influential outfit back at the coal face. The gloom is maintained by Nine Circles and “Mercy.” A superb piece from these trailblazers with Lidia Fiala’s haunting vocals cutting through analogue forms. The Netherlands’ Das Ding closes the album. The fantastically subtle “End Credits Roll” is the lead out. Soundtrack and synth wave are combined in this deep and emotive finale.
Electric Voice II builds on what this North American imprint has already achieved. Whereas their first compilation focused on contemporary talent, this installment balances the old with the new. Very exciting to see new material coming from some of the established artists such as Vita Noctis, bodes well for the future.
Electric Voice II is available on Electric Voice. [Release page]
