Various Artists - Electropop 9

Conzoom Records have released their ninth compilation of Electropop. Boasting 13 tracks of mostly 5 minute plus tracks, the album includes several remixes and extended versions of selected tracks along the way. And I like that idea in a various album. Nothing frustrates me more than 10 tracks of 4 minute songs. So there are a couple points on the upside already.

Electropop 9 has a fairly varying range of the electro style within. Darkwave, synthpop, EBM and even a little trance element thrown in there makes this release a damn fine listen. So the basic stats are these. 13 tracks just under 75 minutes and at a price of 5 Euros at the usual outlets, Electropop 9 is money well spent.

Italian outfit Blume start the album of with their track "Western Rust". Sweeping pads, EBM bass lines and a mournful vocal make this a solid beginning that after the first couple of minutes, makes you glad you are listening and makes you feel better about spending those Euros.

"Kill Yourself With Pain" from Cold in May is the second track. Eliciting a darker, almost gothic romantic electro sound, at 4 and a half minutes, I wished for more of this song. The third track, "Mirrorball" from The Electrobelles made me sit up at first, as it starts exactly like Human Leagues "Open Your Heart". Add a little tinkling sound and we have a gorgeous track with female vocals that are so suited to the music. Its a beautiful almost minimal electro song about that heart stopping moment you see a girl in a club. Listen closely to the lyrics, its brilliant!

The next four tracks Fedora Heap's "Roses Fade Away", In Good Faith "Under The Surface", Kiss The Panther 'Your Voice'', Machinista "Molecules And Carbon" and My Killing Game's "Over You" bring us into the middle of the album and have a more late 80's early 90's italo disco feel that works well and keeps you interested with "Over You' being a little darker than the previous tracks, but still up there in tempo and quality.

Scarlet Soho - "When The Lights Go Out" is an odd little track to throw in here. I can't pick it and it doesn't sit well in the album but is a great track in its own right. It reminds me of a soundtrack song out of a John Hughes film.

Sound Science's "Hydrodome" has a beautiful OMD feel to it. All sequenced basslines and blip and blop percussion. Close to my favourite track on the album. Followed by The Flood,"The Right Time", is the longest track on the album, has a minimal EBM early darkwave feel to it broken by a catchy chorus.

Unity One's "Infrared", the second last track, is a more modern feel of synthpop with lots of trance strings and riffs and layered vocals. Wanted's "Future Rhythm" finishes of the album with an uplifting almost but not quite trancy track that closes the album well.

Various albums are always in danger of being a hit and miss affair considering what a label is trying to get you to be interested in. For the most part Electropop 9 flows well and except for track 9, nothing really feels out of place in the pace of the album. What is important though, is that all the tracks on here are good enough to be in the box of any synthpop DJ as they all are mixable and would work well in any set of the genre and for anyone looking for an introduction to the more Euro side of synthpop.

The Electrobelles "Mirrorball" is my favorite track. I listened to it more than the others and, as a club goer and DJ for the last 30 years, the sentiment in the track is quite real. Assuming my memory serves me well.

As I have said before, a good various album should want to make you 1. check out the label and 2. investigate more about the bands within. Electropop 9 does that for me. Go and get it. Hopefully it will do the same for you. Jul 01 2014