Solar Fake - Frontiers

Not this time, Sven. Your debut as Solar Fake was a fascinating journey through moody rain drenched reflections on love and loss but this new album is a formulaic reminder of how banal most so-called 'underground' music has become. If this was the 80s, Solar Fake would have been part of the synth pop revolution that took the world by storm but it's 2011 and while his voice sounds as good as it ever has 'Frontiers' is boring beyond belief. Many songs on here are just the same beat over and over again. The ghost of Wolfsheim overshadows what's on here in a major way, perhaps Friedrich should apply for the vacant position of vocalist that band currently have. I'm not even much of a fan of Wolfsheim but their influence is so overt it becomes overpowering. I suppose it's true what they say, you have your whole life to make your first album. This one's rushed and simplistic musically to the point of making me wonder why they even bothered releasing it. Technically, there are no flaws to be found but there isn't a lot of feeling either.

Pretty and vacant, that's what 'Frontiers' leaves as it's lasting impression. Our well groomed crooner doesn't really do anything new with his voice either, it's a case of making an album hoping to blend in with what's going on around you and in this, Solar Fake excel. If this didn't have Friedrich singing on it, it could be anyone. There are quite a few progressions and dynamic tricks they employ in the music which are uncomfortably close to what Diary of Dreams do. The quintessential Zeraphine touches sneak on here also, which I don't quite get. Zeraphine's last album 'Whiteout' was magnificent, by the way. I suppose it makes sense to milk it a bit more while the accolades for that record continue to roll in; stick with what you know, which is something Zeraphine are continually accused of (bullshit if you ask me). Hard to believe that this project has become just another 'edgy' dance duo. If I could rewind back to 1999 when Sven's first band, Dreadful Shadows were due to split, I emailed and asked him why. His response was: "we could come up with good songs but not any great songs."

Food for thought, I'd say. Aug 24 2011