In music, no questions asked, they are THE exception to the rule. Photovoltaik duo is like a wind breeze on a hot summer day, in this murdered and raped music scene. Ujn Hunter is the duo’s vocalist from US east coast, and R. Mosquito (ever considered changing your surname?) is the synths man, who slipped into this world on the west coast of the US. To be even more unique and more exception than norm, Photovoltaik even go to the extreme and build their own analogue synths. Nerds! Photovoltaik just released their six track selt titled debut EP. They remind me of the early Depeche Mode albums, the likes of a Speak and Spell, and other albums of that era. Still, they are not a photocopy of Depeche Mode, or Depeche Mode wannabes. This duo delivers some unique synths and beats that you will never find in other albums (because of their custom made synths?) Ujn vocals are also an excellent fit in this album, as if he was brought up in the eighties, or better his voice is stuck in the eighties. Destiny?

Sleep Tight, is the first track on this exciting debut EP, with lyrics like “I want to wrap you up in plastic, I want you buried underground.” Sleep Tight is a melodious puppyish track. Simplistic beats are easily forgotten with catchy sing along type chorus. Their second track, The Factory is an upbeat and fast electro track, definitely a must listen / dance to track if you want to get rid of your daily office frustrations. Persuasion, on the other hand is a calming track, featuring mellow and relatively slow beats and great atmospheric synths in the background. The Well, the EP’s fourth starts with an even slower and milder sound, but at thirty seconds the song changes completely. Welcome to industrial era, robot like beats and synths but thankfully nothing extreme like Aphex Twin. The song still got puppyish influences, which again makes it easy to listen to. Kevlar, the penultimate track is an upbeat simplistic track. The synths used in the chorus of this song are also very uplifting, and do remind me of some famous eighties track, which thanks to my age I cannot remember which track it is. And as many people believe, leave the best for the last. That is what Photovoltaik exactly did in this EP; they reserved the best of the best, a track called Departed Hours for the last. This track sounds like the most mature song of them all. Maybe because it is less poppyish, and sounds more, shall we say, dark electro? Definitely the beat and synths in this track are to listen to and will blow your mind in a polite way. What an  album, which brings along great memories of when good music was mainstream, music that speaks to you.

Ready to taste raw music, pure synthpop and new wave music in its natural beauty, as nature intended it to be? Give it a shot on Photovoltaik’s Bandcamp, from where you can also download a free digital copy of their new EP. This duo is a must follow and they are here to keep you on the go and entertained. They are not the type or artists that will release an album every six centuries. Their aim is to continue releasing singles and EPs on a fairly regular basis. As I write this review, apart from cleaning the gaps between my teeth from devoured meat with a soggy toothpick, these guys are already recording other tracks in San Diego. Follow them on the PhotoVoltaik Facebook page to stay tuned.

As a matter of fact, both singles “Bulletproof” and “In for the kill” from the British electropop band La Roux, topped the charts in 2008 and 2009 respectively.  The sound effects used, the genre of lyrics and also vocals can easily help a 40 year old time travel back to his teens and dance like a robot on a poor lit school dance floor.  Even the song’s music video (below), is influenced from shooting techniques utilised in the 80′s.  La Roux self titled album, released in 2009, is a must grab album for all those looking for an alternative, different from the pop music we know of today.  La Roux is a band that synthpop pioneers would really appreciate, since is rejuvenating what the pioneers had invented, excellent songcraft.

Click here to read more about the new and upcoming band La Roux

Many Paradise Lost and heavy metal / gothic doom fans starting doubting Paradise Lost ability as musicians. Rumors were that the band was switching to commercial music, where income and fame have a higher priority than the quality of music.  They switched from metal to electronic music, no more long hair, and they don’t look like scruffy metal dudes anymore.

Contrary to what many head bangers think, electronic music does not necessarily mean commercial music.  In all music genres, there is music, and commercial music. I can easily jot down a list of commercial heavy metal bands.

Paradise Lost members grow older, and their likings change over time. What they used to like in their teens, does not mean they will still like it now, when they are 30+. As PL themselves said, they just wrote the music they felt like writing during that particular stage in life, and that is how they could express themselves best.

Listening to One Second, it is easy to notice that they still wrote ‘slash your wrist’ lyrics, and still kept their ‘trademark’; dark atmosphere and sad music.  When compared to previous PL albums, it clearly shows that they matured in their music writing abilities.  They had the balls to move on and write the music they liked, instead of restricting themselves to what music labels told them to do. It was a very risky move, but a very good move. The world’s greatest bands produced the greatest music as a result of experimenting with different genres of music, without restricting themselves to a specific genre.

I’ve never heard of any other synthpop / gothic album which even comes close to One Second. If you like this genre of music, just give it a shot!  It is true that Paradise Lost moved away from the metal scene with this album, but that does not mean they are no longer the good old Paradise Lost!