The beautiful Goth female duo Tina Root and Susan Wallace will always be remembered for being one of the finest gothic underground acts in Gothic Subculture history. SS has been on numerous of compilations, released two cassette albums and one cd on their own. The talented femmes got signed with Cleopatra Records quickly. Their first release with the label became a huge success best selling record in 1995. Now ten years later, the label re-released this classic dark album as a double disc deluxe edition. The first disc contains all eleven original songs when it was release. The second disc contains some tracks from their self release cassette albums "Fable" and "Elegy". And demo tracks from the self release cd "Scrapbook". Unheard unreleased tracks are included as well, which was recorded during their recording for "The Three Calamities" studio session. There are two tracks from their live concert shows, an radio interview, and an enhanced feature video for "Clown" you can download and watch on your computer. A collector item to have that's worth the money. Switchblade Symphony has inspired many fans with their music and glitter glamour style little girlish look. The gothic beauties made have broken up because of music differences, but their music is not forgotten.

Disc 1

1. Bad Trash
2. Dissolve
3. Wallflower
4. Wrecking Yard
5. Clown
6. Cocoon
7. Dollhouse
8. Sweet
9. Gutter Glitter
10. Mine Eyes
11. Bloody Kisses

Disc 2

1. Waiting Room
2. Chain
3. Rain
4. Numb
5. Ride
6. Novocaine
7. Wrecking Yard
8. Sweet (Burning Mix)
9. Blue
10. Live 105 Radio Interview
11. Clown (Video)

Electric Kulintang is the new project by Cuban American drummer/percussionist Roberto Juan Rodriguez (www.robertojuanrodriguez.com) and Filipino American drummer/percussionist/keyboardist and (now) singer (for the first time on this record!) Susie Ibarra (www.susieibarra.com). If you don't know these fine folks you better go check them out and you'll see the massive amount of collaborations they sport: with a couple (in music as in life) of such extraordinarily talented downtown NY musicians you can only expect the best!

The entire EK concept is based around the traditional Philippine instrument Kulintang (a series of eight gongs played with sticks) and the pairing of that with jazz drumming, electronic programming and percussion playing. "Dialects" is a great record that balances these multiple worlds of sounds and sonic palettes, moving in and out of chilled downbeat lounge-type blends of world music and electronica to more uptempo compositions with thriving beats and loosely pronounced bass lines.
The layering of sounds and motifs aids the trance-inducing effect of such visionary music. Every tune, although often connected to another, almost represents a small microcosm on its own, where things happen and sounds take positions in an aural soundscape that, however, knows no space and no time.
There is so much to discover in this record, from the colors generated by the hypnotic drumming to the visions of distant worlds evoked by the restless Kulintang melody lines/improvisations; from the field recordings of the Kalanduyan family in Cotobato, Mindanao, to first time experiences, like hearing Ibarra sing. "Dialects" also features two awesome guitar player guests (Oz Noy and Thurston Moore, of Sonic Youth fame) and some mellow Rhode/Wurlitzer type keys.

In the words of associate producer and liner notes writer Steve Lowenthal "whether you enjoy it as a hipster, a jazzbo, a music lover, an artist or a head-nodder, Electric Kulintang is the sound of love. It's for all of us, and we're lucky to have such a gift". Why re-word it or phrase it differently when I happen to wholeheartedly agree?
It just so happens that when great people get together, great things happen and great music is made. This is one of those times, so you know what to do, don't you?

Unlike many other CD singles, this one only has one version of the title-track (the only version, in fact). UK based Saints of Eden start the dances for their new single "Shameless" with a full band of metal headbangers and a pretty talented young rapper by the name of 2 Planets T.Amore. If you were to consider this special collaboration, you might think that they are trying to be the dark wave version of Linkin Park (white singing dude, black rapping dude, electronic-inspired metal band behind them, kind of thing...). Truth to be told, the rest of their songs on this CDS are more typically EBM compositions, mostly electronic based, which makes for a pretty strange choice, which might possibly be interpreted as a hint to a future change of course. Although there are some guitars, it is basically a germanic-inspired EBM act with all the bells and whistles of the genre. There is more to Saints of Eden than just this little disc. They already have three full length albums out already (which by the way you can buy together from their website at a special price), so if you are into EBM go check them out.

You’ve really got to hand it to And One’s Steve Naghavi. After all, the man has made a career out of basically rewriting and re-releasing the same three or four songs every year for the last decade and a half. Like the music industry’s most prolific remixer, Naghavi has navigated these waters so often he knows his own songs like the back of his hand. Of course, this also means he understands precisely which sound to tweak, which melody to pitch up or down and the exact range of each required cutoff sweep to exercise in the pursuit of re-perfection.

If other prominent electronic acts like Covenant, Apoptygma Berzerk and VNV Nation may be accused of sacrilege by their fans for the evolution of their sound, then these same fans must view And One as the Holy Grail of continuity and conviction. Naghavi clearly holds dear a very particular sound palette, one which he’s trained himself to wield like an expert painter, each swish of his brush creating broad strokes of vivid, vibrant color. The keyboard is Naghavi’s canvas, new romanticism his muse.

Over the years, Naghavi has surfed the waves of musical trends, effortlessly gliding from Depeche Mode-derivative synthpop to Syntec-styled EBM to hipster electroclash, each time not so much reinventing himself, but revalidating his work. While progress may be inevitable, it is not necessarily always unquestionable. In Naghavi’s case, the similarity of his work is more than just not fixing what isn’t broken; it’s a commitment to excellence in one’s field of work, however specialized it may be.

The Frontfeuer EP follows on the band’s latest full length, Bodypop, finally released earlier this year after a three year silence from the band. Both releases find Naghavi completely at ease in his craft, creating untouchable pop gems with an efficiency that is the envy of every artist out there. They may not appreciate the fruits of his labor, but the way in which his compositions seem to flow so easily and effortlessly from his fingertips gives the impression that Naghavi could do this stuff in his sleep. Each of the extended play’s five tracks could top club charts tomorrow without batting an eye... and that’s great work, if you can find it. Welcome back.

Here is even more of Robbie Quine and the Barbarellatones' shock-cock-rock to wet your whistle, with all the satire and twice the scatology and prurient explorations of the leading brand. This time around (as on his concurrent B-tones release Invasion of the Surf Zombies!), He enlists Peter DiStefano late of Porno For Pyros, who does incredibly tasty lead guitar on superior tracks such as "Acid Test," "Medicine Woman" and "Medicine Wheel" as well as the comically solemn "Chinese Food." And don't miss the hilarious Blink-182 send-up "Orange County," a brief ode to poor-dressing rich kids. You also get treated to many, many real or imagined details in the inner and outer life of Quine the glam rocker, including the tender, heartbreaking "Junky Girlfriend," "Chocky the Hawaiian Dirt-Cat," and the gruesomely upbeat tear-jerker "Sunset Club."

Coldsore doesn't pan out quite as well as a "work" in comparison to Surf Zombies, which has a strong unifying theme. A few of the songs ("Tranni Troglodyte," "Jaws!," "I Had Sex With A C.H.U.D.") appear on both CDs, making your overall investment iffy. But chances are there will be some cut or another you won't be able to do without. Please -- do it for Chocky.