Latvia's PIXEL HERO isn't a graphic-designer, but an Electro/Industrial-music producing one-man-project founded by Wormboy. Signed to the Sturm label group and community, I was quite curious, how this album would sound. Let's say, that PIXEL HERO is strictly dedicated to all forms of Electronica music based in the early 80ies, at times where Atari computer have been in use to create some raw noises and play some early video-games. Some titles out of the track list are proving this dedication, like 'Alien Caverns', 'Asteroid Deathmatch', or 'Nebular Car Dump' for example. Be it early EBM, Minimal, or at least rhythmically Powernoise music, I was also astonished, how raw some of these tracks are coming out: 'Orbital Bombing', as being the opener., spits out all of that pseudo-aggression, which can be found quite often in the roster of this fine Latvian label-collective. The more exceptional tunes can be named with those, which leave a bit the monotonous minimal path, 'Squad '99' is such an example, which offers some nice hooks and cool Hi-Q percussion inserts. If you have found some satisfaction with projects like SYSTEM (Progess Productions), NEON COIL (Klangdynamik), or the last MIND.IN.A.BOX-recordings, then you should be informed, that PIXEL HERO is the more drastically outfit in a relative comparable kind music/sound programming. So let's hope, that this story doesn't end abruptly after the twelfth track aptly entitled 'End Boss / Death of The Pixel Hero'...

The first time I reviewed Minerve was with the release of their debut album "Breathing Avenue", issued by Pandailectric in 2004 and I already put in evidence the qualities of what back then were a duo formed by Daniel Wollatz and Mathias Thurk. Now six years have passed and they are a four members band which have recently released their fourth album PLEASE on Echozone. The new album brings to the lovers of electropop twelve new tracks that span from upbeat ballads (like "Life is an illusion", "Read im my memories", "Please"), melancholic ones (the following "You don't know me" or "Save me"), dancey synthpop tunes with e.b.m. influences ("Hold me tight", "Every day", "Don't ask me why", "Phoenix", "Forbidden love" or "Under my skin") and a bit of new wave ("Down to the ground". Influenced by Depeche Mode, And One, Mesh, Minerve with PLEASE released a solid album full of catchy melodies and good vibes.

Electronic music producer from Nizhniy Novgorod, Russia, Valeriy Monov has been the former member of DJ/producer duo project Tonika Provocation, alongside Michael Belikhin (aka Michael Khimick). Valeriy has been signed to Mullet Records with his Solila monicker and he didn't lost time and prepared this THREE THIRDS EP. Opening with "Debauche", Solila is showing to the listeners their intentions to make them sweat on the funkadelic dance floor thanks to this instrumental electronic dance tune. Also the second track "The space bar" doesn't make no prisoners and decides to kill everyone thanks to 4/4 hard beats, funky bass lines and catchy synth brass solos. "Till the light comes" is a declaration of intents and thanks to bouncing guitar riffs, synth leads solos, piano chords and syncopated drum rhythms is a blend of 70s/80s dance music elements. Try it if you ain't afraid to lose too much fat while dancing...

One of the strongest point of the debut album by the German bouldering duo [de:ad:cibel], hiding the musical ids of Daniel Galda and Armin Kuester, could lie in the power of amusing different kind of listeners by preserving a certain stylistical unoiformity: amalgamated by appreciable EBM structures and deafening bass lines for the likes of Front Line Assembly or Funkervogt fan-base and considerably insisting on topics such as depression, religion and faith (I enjoyed some "marxist" remembrance in the lyrics of the song Jerusalem Syndrom whereas any builder of make-believe system on the basis of revealed religion acts like a pusher/seller: "...Verkauf ich euch mein Opium./Ein Konstruct aus Angst und Regeln/Die Warheit wind indoktriniert/Mit Richtig- oder Falsch-Befehlen/Die Herde grundlich selektiert" as well as the invitations on reflection on the real final aim of some religious doctrines in the song Human Product - "These lies are corridors of mundane power/to hold the might they built a watchtower/superstition was the fundament/they used it as an instrument"), ironic critics on consumerism (it's somehow funny the ideal breaking of the sacred trinity of the socio-economical system - buy, consume, die - hinting at the words of the humorous song Too tired to consume, making a long list on an enjoyable danceable psychotic electro movement of "prescribed" quinine for keep someone's finance healthy or for celebrating the scene...allelujah!) and its consequences on human relations (songs such as Architecture or B.I.I.D. arguably insists on the refusal of distorted way of considering feelings, mixed up with low-grade bodily functions) and even some conceptual statements (I enjoyed the neural connections activated by songs such as Heteronomy or One Of 47 - maybe the best song of this album -, forcing thoughts while moving dancin steps...), these lads could be even appreciated by a large range of listeners as they're able to satisfy classical dark-electro fans (One of 47, Architecture), cyber-goth or mindful techno addicts (Monster Train's ferocious march or the less rough grip of Selektionsfunktion and Geteert und gefedert should switch their hungry neurons on...), synth-pop or future-pop lovers (tracks such as the above-mentioned Heteronomy or Between My Headphones and even more "romantic" songs such as Nobody hurts like I do could be injected in their lower abdomen...), but I won't be surprised to see some reviews of Klondike on metal mags as well. Concerning the quality, Klondike ideally traces a reversed Gaussian route as I listened to more well-crafted works in the beginning and in the end of the record, being the highest peaks Jerusalm Syndrome (featuring some icy treatments on the harsch Daniel Galda's voice...) One of 47 and Geteert und gefedert. It's nice the idea of showing the dynamic range of each track! Even if they're not really newcomers of the scene if you just consider for instance that Daniel was keyboardist for Das Ich's live stages (...and it's not casual that sometimes you'll have the impression of listening an electrified version of Das Ich as well...), I could say it's really a brilliant debut!

ALL ABOARD THE MULLETSHIP VOL.1 is the first Mullet label compilation and it greets its first two years of activity. Containing twenty five tracks hand picked by label boss Justin Winks, the compilation sums the many highlights of Mullet Records. As you may know, the label's growing catalog deals with synth driven electro funk, nu disco and cosmicboogie beats; music deeply influenced by 80s sound. Being a download only release and including one unreleased mix, you may ask me why this release would be worth the purchase. Well, first of all, price wise, this is a budget compilation as you can get twenty five tunes for the price of a normal album and secondly, its track list covers every genre released by the label, including tracks by Casio Social Club, Tesla Boy, The Diogenes Club, Sare Havlicek, Long Distance Analog, Baxter, Estate, The Artificial Arm, ODahl, Nuvo Rich, Two Cosmic Kids, Fatback 4Way, Dabeull, Long Distance Analog and Kouros. I can't say if this is a best of, because there are so many great tracks that didn't find space here, but for sure ALL ABOARD THE MULLETSHIP VOL.1 will give you a good view of what Mullet Records sounds like. Check it out and you won't regret it.