(02.16.09) Those electrotronic zealots from Düsseldorf, Aube Records, are back with their sixth release. The label has established a solid fan-base with its back catalog of disco electronix and spacey analogue soundscapes. Yet, with this latest installment the imprint is moving into new territory. 0.5 is by the Seattle, Washington outfit The Fascination Movement and sees Aube move into a more new wave sound. So has 0.5 managed to maintain the high standards the label has founded?
The record opens with “Just Pretend” and the immediacy of how different this EP is to Aube’s back catalog hits. The blend of melancholy and pop meet the listener as soon as the needle hits the vinyl, with despondently happy lyrics rolling over synthesizer taps. The sorrowful cheery vocals weave as chords are further developed and guitar strings are pushed through to produce a rounded work of differently despairing new wave. Vocoders and synth chords usher in “Radio.” The track lowers the tempo of its predecessor, with long compositions of string and lingering vocals with some vocoded interjections.
Flip 0.5 and you’re met by the longest track of the EP, “Down Again.” Downheartedness drips from the speakers as the lyrics take a sadness-laden turn whilst synth and guitars mesh in an uplifting falling spiral. The Seattle set-up move into solo mode half way through the track, working guitar strings and harmonica wails over synthlines before shifting and opting for an up beat ending to cut through a piece of the grey. Guitar strings open “Run Away” before the synthesizers land on this uptempo work of lamenting lyrics and pangs of vocoder joy. The track balances depression and elation in a tilting equilibrium to leave the listener wondering.
It’s difficult to put a finger on what Aube have discovered with The Fascination Movement. In many respects, the Washington outfit have similar attributes to Genaro; well constructed tracks that border on lines of emotion, skimming happiness and heartache. The Fascination Movement don’t break with Aube’s back catalog, but expand on it with something new. 0.5 is not an EP that can be pigeonholed, but it seems certain that Aube have unearthed something special with The Fascination Movement.
0.5 is out now on Aube.
