Enough meat for TWO sandwiches
R O C K E T | The Twin Cities, MN | 02/07/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Finally...after a ridiculously long wait...it's here! Was it worth it? Hells yes! Mark definitely made the right decision to continue his musical legacy after he gave Cosmicity its final happy ending. Under his own given name, the new sound is certainly not worlds away from Cosmicity. As already stated, it's just a bit more dark, sexual, and gritty. If you are really conservative and/or religious, I warn you: this album could be an assault to your piety and could make you want to douse your ears with holy water, or you may be tempted to track down Mark and have a priest exorcize the sick pig. ;) In any case, I wouldn't recommend this for you. But for all of us heathens that don't mind a little bit of kink with our audio lovin', this album is brilliant! My absolute favorite tracks are "Perverse," "Coming Clean," and "Green," but the entire thing is extremely enjoyable. I don't even care much for instrumentals typically, but the ultra-catchy beats of "Two Sandwiches," combined with the hilarious vocal samples, make it one of the album's highlights. The first half is definitely naughtier than the second half. A few of the tracks toward the end could have fit easily into a Cosmicity album (namely, "I Wish," "The Measure of Pleasure," and "Selective Memory Loss").
My one complaint is with the artwork. It's not bad in and of itself. It's kind of fun and kitschy and whatnot... It just doesn't work for me somehow. It seems TOO fun and kitschy and ridiculous, while the music, for the most part, is not. Sure, there are songs about threesomes and the like, but it's not fluffy stuff here. I would have preferred something darker - or even something more minimalistic, like the Cosmicity album covers. But maybe that's just me.
Anyway, the bottom line is that Mark started 2007 off with a tremendous bang and set the bar extremely high for any other new albums. With an album this close to perfect, I dare anyone else to release anything remotely this good!"
Pure Genius
J. Termen | 02/07/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Track 01: Green
Green is a great opening track it kind of has a certain ambiance to it with the melody in between versus. I think Mark is very strong when it comes to writing good melodies and this track is a testament to that. To me it's the kind of track that goes well when listening to it late at night. I love the lyrics on this track especially the chorus.
Track 02: Backlash
We kind of get an idea of what Dirty Electronic means when we listen to Backlash. This song and most of the album is layered in lots of great analogue sounds. They always have kind of a crunchy or dirty sound to them. The song has a great rhythm throughout. Lyrically this song refers to the response that Mark had gotten with his bonus DVD for his second Cosmicity compilation. I really didn't pay much attention to it but from what I gathered it was blown way out of proportion and I always felt that the content on the DVD was harmless so whatever I liked the DVD and I love this song. The drums remind me a little of Discoteca/Single by the Pet Shop Boys.
Track 03: Perverse
Perverse is a very up tempo in your face song. It has excellent sounds throughout. I think the lyrics are self explanatory. To me it's very Nitzer Ebb. I just love the rhythm. I can see this track being a single.
Track 04: I'm Trying To Impress You
At the moment this is probably my favorite track on the entire record (That's if you forced me to pick one). The melody in between verses is just awesome, I love it. It has a great mixture of analogue sounds. I love the lyrics I can relate to them. Overall this track just has such a nice groove to it.
Track 05: Two Sandwiches
I love the instrumentation on this track. The voices in this track are actually a recording that Mark did while playing a particular online game. I find what the guy says to be a little disgusting. Personally if this song was just an instrumental it would have been great for me. Others might like it more but it's a taste kind of thing for me.
Track 06: Little Goth Girl
What a brilliant track. I love how this sounds. I love all the melodies through out the entire thing. The harpsichord solo and instrumental towards the end of the song is so great. I'd love to see a 12 inch version of this track with that part really being focus on somehow. I would do it myself if I could, that's how much I love it. The chorus is very in your face and I just love it.
Track 07: Coming Clean
In a way this song reminds me of the Cosmicty track Digital Delays because of how the chorus sounds. This song has a really powerful beat to it. I like how it's kind of minimal during the verses then really picks up during the chorus. The lyrics in the chorus are great the. The song overall has a lot of sexual references, especially in the chorus with "I know tonight won't go as planned, but I want to anyway."
Track 08: I Wish
I honestly thought this track was going to be a serious ballad when I first read the lyrics. However it is not but I think it could have worked well as one. I think a lot of people can relate to the lyrics but they describe someone wanting to be something else then what they are but they will never get what they really want. I love the lyrics on this track. Instrumentally I love the bass groove through out the entire song it has a very nice rhythm. In a way the bass reminds me a little of Lie To Me by Depeche Mode.
Track 09: The Measure Of Pleasure
I like how this track starts off then when the bass and drums kick in it gets even better. This song does have a ballad feel to it and apparently an earlier version was a more of a ballad (I'd love to hear that version too). Again another great track. I love the lyrics they are very haunting to me.
Track 10: Selective Memory Loss
This is technically the final track on the record. I've always had a theory that the last track on a record can really make or break the entire record. I love a really epic or really depressing track with very personal lyrics to be on the end of a record. It has a very minimal feel to it. The lyrics sort of remind me of Numb by the Pet Shop Boys. They are very relatable. Overall this is a great track as well.
Track 11: Eine Kleine Booty Musik
This is actually a bonus track. Mark wrote it for a Dodge Ram commercial. It is pretty much an instrumental. I like the instrumentation. The lyrics kind of have a hip hop style. Not really my taste but the track has a nice groove to it. I think Mark says it best by saying he loves a happy ending. I think this is one.
Overall I just simply love this record. It is very experimental. Great melodies through out the entire thing. A lot of the tracks are up beat. The lyrics have more of a darker tone then what Mark used to write as Cosmicity. This definitely deserves a wide audience. It shows a lot of hard work was put into it. You can't really label this record with one genre but I think maybe Dirty Electronic sums it up. BUY IT!!!
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Track Listings (11) - Disc #1