La Machine, the duo formed by Eric U0 and Pierre Pi, is really good at picking up a song from the past and turning it into something new. If the track is a French hit from the past, the result is even more interesting, because of the electronic arrangement and because they are just good at giving to their covers a fresh touch. For this new EP "W454", they picked up a song sung by Michel Sardou in 1976. The original one had a rich orchestration and sounded like a mix of rock opera, confidential and disco: now it sounds like a mix of e.b.m. and synthpop but it didn't lose its original pathos and this is just remarkable. This is a particular release because it shouldn't exist: don't get me wrong, this isn't what I was wishing for but this MCD/10" shouldn't have existed because La Machine was about to release their first album but because of manufacturing delays they decided to give birth to this nice EP. Along with "W454" and a new track "Invasion Humanoide" (a new really nice track that will be included along with the title track on the incoming album) and their remixes, we have another surprise: a cover of "Psyche Rock", a single that Pierre Henry, one of the fathers of French electronic music, released back in 1970. If you love Matt Groening work you already know this tune, because a version of it is the main title of the Futurama cartoon.

Test Card is back with a new album titled 'Channels' and of course you know that Test Card is the solo project of Lee Nicholson, based in Vancouver, Canada. This is Test Card's fifth album, inspired by Nicholson's love of mid to late 90's experimental, lo-fi, electronic and post-rock music, particularly on 7 inch singles released by legendary DIY labels such as Static Caravan, Ochre, Earworm, Jonathon Whiskey, Awkward Silence, 555 Recordings, Mind Expansion, Enraptured, Active Suspension, Wurlitzer Jukebox, and many more. This album is ten tracks of amiable melodic synth electronica with few exceptions. Rhythm track/percussion is of the drum machine variety, whether an actual drum machine or sampling was employed I do not know. Lots of vintage synthesizer sounds you might remember from the '80s and '90s with some tracks using radio transmission (not broadcast) samples. Within the confines of its musical millieu 'Channels' is made up of a variety of sonic environments sometimes recalling Krautrock and even '60s early psychedelic electronica like 'Zodiac Cosmic Sounds.' This is an album of good feeling and good vibes at a time when we don't get enough of that. Limited, numbered edition of 200 in the usual Sound in Silence handmade packaging.

It was 1980 when Steve Mecca (bass) and Terry Kennedy (lead vocals and keyboards) played their electronic-pop experiments under the Sound FX moniker. In 1981 the duo changed name giving birth to Chemistry Set and started their history that lasted six years. Mike Reaves joined them at the synths in late 1981 and left in 1984; he helped Steve and Terry to create their own brand of New Wave synthpop and theatrics. "Experiments From The Lab" collects eleven tracks from the 1981-87 period plus two "new" versions of "I Am Vapour" and "Iron Curtain" they recorded in 2015 and 2014 respectively. The CD opens with the same songs but in their 1981 and 1982 recordings: I really dug these two as they sound pop but also experimental, melodically speaking, and "Iron Curtain" made me think of The Passage, a Manchester postpunk, active between 1978 and 1983 which had a similar oblique approach to melody. "Chemistry" plus the following "King's Gambit", with their upbeat synthpop sound, are making me think of Robert Marlow (he recorded four singles in the early 80s for Vince Clarke's Reset Records) with their bright electronic sound so rooted in melody. The latter was also featured on WHDA's New Jersey Rock IV vinyl album and a 16mm film/music video appeared on MTV and cable channels, 1984-85. The band's theatrical approach finds its top on the middle-oriental sounding "Bazaar Of The Bizarre", where sensual chanting and souk-like sounds give life to a really nice tune. If "Hot Spot" is a bit like "Bazaar Of The Bizarre", starting with "Ins & Outs Of Love" the sound changes: I think that the following songs could have been recorded in 1985/87 due to their lushes sounds and electronic soul/MTV pop influences that bring us the first love ballad "Two Of A Kind". Also "Love Reaction" and "Gimme Sum Slack" are following the same path and they aren't properly my cup of tea. The aforementioned 2015 and 2014 versions of "I Am Vapour" and "Iron Curtain" with their updated sound are nice but I like most the raw energy of the original ones. I appreciated the melody rewriting on "Iron Curtain" but the 1982 version was more particular and immediate/catchy.

The Overlookers, the duo formed by J.D. Laccasagne (of Dekad) and Creature XY (of Foretaste), are back with a new album, their second, titled "Videodrama". If for the first 2019 album "Teenage Wet Dreams" they took as reference the 50s, with "Videodrama", we travel back in time to land in the 80s. They mention as influences: David Cronenberg, John Carpenter, Stephen King, John Hughes and Rob Lowe & Don Johnson. Musically, their electronic synthpop was already rooted in the 80s and also this time we have catchy melodies, that often sound a bit melancholic, coupled with mid-tempo rhythms. Simmons, as well as other classic drum machines from the 80s, have been used along with arpeggiators and lush synth sounds, and everything helps to create the soundtrack for an imaginary movie made of undercover people, troubled souls, stars afraid to lose their fame, etc... If this would be the soundtrack of an 80s show, it would be for a sort of Miami Vice's dark version, filmed in a cold winter Chicago, rather than in a sunny Miami. The album grows with the listening and if at the beginning I liked more the singles, now with the third time I'm enjoining it all...

Put your hazmat suit on, La Machine are back! Your preferred post-atomic electronic band is proud to bring you through BoredomProduct their second mini album. As they did for their first release, they picked up a famous song from the past and gave their personal version of it. This time, the challenge was really difficult, because choosing a pop song and turning it into an electronic one is easier than taking an electronic synthpop song known almost everywhere and making it sound great, just like the original version. Did La Machine succeed? Well, for sure they made it sound as if it was one of their tracks and it's a good one. Was it enough? For whom didn't know the original song, I think yes. For other ones... almost, because losing the danceable/upbeat factor could be a double edged weapon. The song has been slowed down, just as they did for "La Machine Qui Ne Sert à Rien" and now it sounds more minimal than the original tune. On the MCD you can find three versions of the track: the edit, the one sung in French language and the radiomix (which sounds even more minimal). On the EP there's a new original tune, "Reactor 4". A love song that takes place at the core of the most famous atomic power plant, just before the catastrophe. This one is really a great synthpop song that sounds melancholic and energetic at the same time. The five minutes remix, titled "Reacteur 4 (Romance Atomique)", is sounding even more dramatic and confirms the song as the best one of the MCD. Last, we can find " Rectangle": an instrumental track that is another cover. The original is coming from the first Jacno's album, released back in 1979 and with this, La Machine are paying tribute to one of the first French synthpop acts.