Red-Line - Out of Business

'Out of Business' is the debut album from Greek Red-Line and has been released on Mutant-E Records. It could be described as a blend of Hardstyle and Industrial Techno with few vocals and all the focus on dance floor friendly beats and melodies.

At first, I must admit that Red-Line seduce me with their hard beats and sexy fast paced melodies, but with most attractions, it's over by the morning light and instead you feel somewhat dirty and used. The perfect shapes the night before in the colored lights now seem a bit... saggy.

However, the attraction is there long enough for me to enjoy this while it lasts. While the lyrics themselves are way too hollow, they make nice breaks and enhance the melodies and beats that would otherwise become way too repetitive. I also found myself a hate/love affair within 'Out of Business'. The third track "You Tango" is hardstylesque tango, yeah; I know how freakish it sounds. And trust me, I do hate it... but still, I can't resist it. It has such charm and playfulness in it; I can't avoid feeling the heat of the tango.

The biggest problem with his album is that it goes on forever. With the 6 remixes, this album is 17 tracks long and clock in at 80 minutes. Even though I like sections of it, it can't keep me interested for that amount of time. I find myself drifting away or doze off. Therefore I've focused on the 11 original tracks which seem suitable for this kind of album and that is about what I can handle.

The beats and melodies are all very well written and well composed, but I would prefer if the lyrics and vocals would improve. Make the few lines you have more chanting (Nitzer Ebb as the obvious archetype) and improve on your vocals. With each break in the melody and when the vocals come, I want to fall in love, have an orgasm and get scared, all at the same time. Make me feel something.

All and all, a quite interesting project worth checking out and with some improvements, could deliver an energetic second album. Jan 03 2012