Various Artists: Ministry Of Sound 'Anthems - Electronic 80's'

To celebrate some of the finest electronic music from the 1980's, this Ministry Of Sound compilation, released in 2009, features some of the biggest names in the bygone synthpop era, including Ultravox, Soft Cell, Orchestral Manouvers In The Dark (OMD), and many more.

Various Artists: Ministry Of Sound 'Anthems Electronic 80's'

The compilation, which contains a total of 60 tracks running 16 seconds shy of a four hour runtime, begins with 'Vienna' by Ultravox. Some of the most favourable output of the era soon follows, including 'Cars,' 'Tainted Love,' 'Fade To Grey' and 'Don't Go' all within the first five tracks.

Among the highlights are some of the lesser known works, such as Thomas Dolby's 'Hyperactive' and The Human League's rendition of 'Being Boiled.' As such, the compilation does well to document some of the most successful releases of the 80s alongside lesser known works equally worthy of praise. Unfortunately there remains some tracks which would be expected on such a compilation. Thankfully, a second volume followed later to include a further number of tracks.

Through the inclusion of such varied works, this compilation is given far greater depth than the typical synthpop compilations which draw from largely the same material. For any children of the 80's, this compilation serves as a charming retrospective of the era where synthesisers got sexy. For volume 2, released in 2010, click here.

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The Prodigy: Invaders Must Die

Since forming in 1990, The Prodigy have divided critical opinion a great deal, while establishing a highly faithful fanbase in the mean time. 'Invaders Must Die' is the fifth studio album offering by the musical project and includes some of their most impressive material to date for fans of their music.

The Prodigy: Invaders Must Die

The album begins with the title track, 'Invaders Must Die,' also the first single to be released from the album. This track sees The Prodigy's typical DnB House method of composition with commendable interplay between bass line and synthetic overtones. The following track, 'Omen' continues with this unrelenting yet rather commercial style, later released as another single from the album.

Interestingly, later tracks, such as 'Take Me To The Hospital,' reference the more surreal earlier compositions by the band. 'Take Me To The Hospital' for instance is somewhat reminiscent of the duo's earlier track 'Out Of Space.' Such tracks lie alongside the much heavier offerings, such as 'Warrior Dance,' which presents a much harsher and distorted sound.

In this reviewer's opinion, some of the finest material lies in 'Omen Reprise' and the particularly notable remix of 'Invader's Must Die' by Chase And Status. This album presents a great refinement of the bands style, its sequel will be dearly anticipated.

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La Roux: La Roux

La Roux are a British pop duo who first found success following their debut 'La Roux' album released in 2009 which brought to the fray a form of popular music notably reminiscent of 80's synth pop with a more refined production methodology. The voice of Elly Jackson, often mistaken as an independent artist as her collaborator Ben Langmaid rarely appears in PR documents and does not join Elly in live performances, leads each piece on the album accompanied by synths and drum machines to provide the rest of the instrumentation.

La Roux: La Roux

The album begins with 'In For The Kill,' also the second single to be released from the album, also known for an alternative version featuring Kanye West which was released later. 'In For The Kill' is commercially the duo's biggest hit, containing one of the most memorable hooks from 2009. This is followed by 'Tigerlily' which sees a much darker theme compared to most other tracks from the album. 

'Tigerlily' later resolves into the opening of 'Quicksand,' the duo's debut single and a highlight of the album. Like many of the other tracks on the album, the instrumentation in 'Quicksand' is restricted but a large musical texture is created through subtle timbral variations between sections and the doubling of vocal parts. While clear in its synth pop origins, the album takes on a much clearer mix and slightly harsher timbres than would be seen in the 80's, when the synthpop movement began, congruent with the production values in the contemporary popular music industry.

The album contains plenty of high quality material, the second half however sees a change in style to a smoother and less upbeat writing style on the whole, ultimately giving more variety but potentially dividing its audience. Regardless, this album is evidentiary of great talent from the duo, with a followup album greatly anticipated.

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Deadmau5: For Lack Of A Better Name

Joel Zimmerman, better known by his stage name Deadmau5, began his musical career in 2005 with the release of his debut album 'Get Scraped.' Since, he has released four further studio albums, with 'For Lack Of A Better Name' being the fourth studio Deadmau5 album, released in 2009.

Deadmau5: For Lack Of A Better Name

The album begins with 'FML,' which features possibly the most furious and incessant minute of snare drum playing ever to occur outside of rock music. This is soon relegated as house-style synths dominate, eventually subsiding to the famed funeral march at the beginning of 'Moar Ghosts 'n' Stuff,' an instrumental version of 'Ghosts 'n' Stuff,' which follows as a separate track. Given that no large passages of vocal material enter until the third track, Deadmau5 shows great skill in creating such interesting house arrangements from largely synthesisers.

The fourth track, 'Hi Friend!,' which features MC Flipside, also released as the first single of the album, shows a greater influence from electro music. This electro style continues into 'Bot,' which combines lowfi drums and additional elements which make it reminiscent to Daft Punk's output, in particular their soundtrack to 'Tron: Legacy,' reviewed here.

Among the later tracks in the album are the title track 'Lack Of A Better Name,' as well as the audibly trance influenced '16th Hour' and 'Strobe,' both over ten minutes long. This album illustrates clearly Deadmau5's versatility as an artist and its critical acclaim is by no means surprising. 

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Depeche Mode: Tour Of The Universe

'Tour Of The Universe' is a live album/DVD release recorded during synth pop group Depeche Mode's most recent tour in 2009. While the tour was largely supporting the group's 12th studio release, 'Sounds Of The Universe,' the set list contains material which goes back as far as the group's 1986 'Black Celebration' album.

Among the credits to the album is its chart performance, in fact going platinum in Germany and becoming the first live album to top the German music charts in a period of two years. The album also exhibits the group's praiseworthy musicianship, a notable virtue given the band's 31 years in the industry.

The album begins with 'In Chains,' 'Wrong' and 'Hole To Feed,' all from the group's 'Sounds Of The Universe' album, before revisiting tracks from their wide and varied musical past. Among the highlights of the album are 'Enjoy The Silence' and 'Personal Jesus,' in addition to several of the band's classic played toward the finale of the set. The band's energy sustains a listener's interest through the 2 hour long album and indeed the new arrangements to their older material allow Depeche Mode to showcase their formidable talent.

The album is clearly crafted with great precision to sustain their audience's attention, seen particularly in the juxtopposition between the energy of 'Personal Jesus' and sobering finale of 'Waiting For The Night.' While the audio CDs' are mixed with loving care, the DVD performance certainly adds even more to this fantastic live album.

For the review of the band's 1990 release 'Violator,' from which several tracks in the set list are taken, including 'Personal Jesus' and 'Waiting For The Night,' click here.

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Air: Love 2

Air are a french electronica duo active since 1995 having released a total of 6 studio albums and 2 compilation albums. Their 2009 release, 'Love 2'crystalises their electronica style but interestingly adds a psychedelic influence which is seen from the very first track.

The pseudo-Title track 'Love' is a throwback to the early electronica stylings of Jean Michel Jarre, with a typical Air stamp on things through their more prominant use of lush vocoded vocals and non-synthetic instrumentation. Many media outlets have used Air's output through the years in TV ads, the downtempo feel in several of the Love 2 tracks such as 'So Light Is Her Footfall' and 'You Can Tell It To Everybody' give the tracks huge potential.

While a fairly unusual example of an electronic album due to Air's the extended use of world instruments, the album contains several highly interesting tracks, certainly worth a listen.

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