Second volume of a CD compilation series which is designed for promotional use only and cost-free but hard to get for a normal consumer. Released again as co-operation between both labels Dungeon-Recordings and Backscatter with the distribution help of the infamous DSBP label this new comp brings us the newest efforts and appetizers directly taken from the upcoming new full-length releases by DIVERJE, LEXINCRYPT, BOUNDLESS, LITTLE SAP DUNGEON or P.C.P. to name a few. The skill and diversity is richly present here and I personally can’t await the release of the newest pieces. This remarkable comp starts with a dark gloomy co-operation project between P.C.P. and the new Dungeon signing IN’VEKTIV. Musically almost based on some dark and spooky LITTLE SAP DUNGEON efforts this track has still enough own identity to give fully satisfaction. Comes next a more traditional dark Electro smasher by LEXINCRYPT. Harsh distorted vocals, pounding rhythms, wide melodic layers – so are the trademarks of this solo project of Wrythe (SYMBIONT) – maybe a bit influenced by some harsh SUICIDE COMMANDO classics, but still with a stand-out in quality. BOUNDLESS is of course also present here and give us a new "Mechanos Failed" pretty much in their already known lighter Electro style. Xon offers with this track some nice varied vocal progression and the sequences sound more trendy than ever before. Follows then one of the main DSBP acts, DIVERJE, leaded by the very own label chief Tommy T. I have never heard and expected such a great evolution in complexity and production by this project with this track "Your Pleasure (Harsh)". It sounds and reminds me a bit on some works done by the great French act E.S.R. and maybe Vince Pujol of this band has put a helping hand on this track. But again – DIVERJE has never been so strong, so rich in composition and sequencing like on this marvelous dark Electro track. A must! Then I must admit that I have never heard a full length CD by CARPHAX FILES, a band recording for COP International. Uuuhm, big mistake, shame on me – they offer a decent and danceable Electro track with some angry vocals. Strong enough done to grab your attention, go and check it out. ROSES AND EXILE offer us a dark and weird piece with a harsh edge. Vocals are here destroyed through the use of some guitar effect machines and the globally structure of their piece is a bit chaotic. Follows then a marvelous and gloomy Electro dark piece by CIRCUIT SURGEON which offers here one of the biggest surprises with well worked out synth layers and Alien-like vocals. LITTLE SAP DUNGEON finally give us here the revamped version of their classic "Ask Alice (Acidland 25 Mix)" which I could already check out on their split-CD with BOUNDLESS, "Geist". It sounds almost like a new track and nothing remembers on the original version. Lately after this track this comp turned into some more or less weird and experimental music stuff which do not fit my personal preferences. Take some Rap (!!!) from FIXX & THE INSUFFERABLE NOISE MACHINE, some abstract experiments with strange sounds by SAVANT GARDE, Powernoise-efforts by SONIC DISORDER, TWILLIGHT TRANSMISSION's Dark Techno experiments and finally SCAPEGOAT’s dark Ambient-like piece you have an idea how diverse and mixed this comp went. Backscatter and Dungeon-Recordings in collaboration offer again a fine compilation which is worth to be a regular release. Highly recommend, try to get it!

"What's lost is something important. What's found is something not revealed" is the first solo release from Jon Mueller, who has worked over the years with Pele, Jason Kahn, Bhob Rainey, Jack Wright and Asmus Tietchens, to name but a few, beside being a member of Collections of Colonies of Bees. These data could give you a hint about what to expect from this album. Mueller uses drums as the only sound source, but don't expect an improv work, however radical, as this is rather closer to the savage drone works of Daniel Menche or Francisco López. In his hands, the drum set becomes a sort of mechanical beast, half rattlesnake half locomotive. From subtle squeals to destructive bass frequencies, all single possible sounds of the percussions are expanded, altered and layered, with a sense of urgency and awe-inspiring power: far from being a sterile exercise of tecnique, Mueller's performance is a matter of flesh and blood.

Basque artist Xabier Erkizia has performed with the likes of Mattin, Ilios, TV Pow, Eddie Prevost and Mark Wastell, and being on Antifrost you can start guessing at how "Entresol" will (not) sound like. Erkizia explores the shadow line between complete silence and all-out noise, with radical and unnerving shifts from one to the other. Most of "Entresol" is made of hisses, electric vapours, sounds of non-places. Reaching a more organic and engaging synthesis in the third and final track, with a sort of subdued storm, "Entresol" is a risky work. Now that - after years of fertile and contradictory experimentation - even lowercase sound has become a music genre, with its own topoi and cliches, it's hard to be surprised by these ectoplasms of sounds - and while surely captivating for a concentrated listening, the first two tracks are too loose and un-constructed to offer remarkable inputs. Mind you, this is not "bad" - it's just almost always "not there", not even as a mirage.

Leaftree & Downey is the brainchild of artist/painter Downey Burns. I’ve never heard his music before so I’ll admit, he caught me off guard. I’d heard negative opinions about Leaftree & Downey’s sound, so I wasn’t expecting much when I got his fourth release, Wet Kisses, in the mail. When I pressed play on the CD player, though, one word alone came to mind: Charming. There is a quality about this band that is purely and simply charming.

Everything about Wet Kisses is light-hearted and fun. The vocals have a gentle, friendly feeling complimented by a light effects filter. The vocal melody is always slightly off, but adds to the music in a way that seems calculated and purposeful. The music is mostly piano/keyboard, light drums, and gentle, casual electronics flowing throughout, with a little harmonica and electric guitar for good measure. Wet Kisses leaves the impression that Burns lives in a relaxed world, and this is his attempt to bring a little of that relaxed world to his audience.

When I play Leaftree and Downey’s Wet Kisses my spirit seems to lift. It’s hard to be in a bad mood when I listen to this release. I do have a problem with Wet Kisses, though. The sound never really shifts. While I start with a lifted spirit, five minutes into the first track I’m ready for a new song. While not all the songs are so long, multiple tracks back to back share a similar effect. I honestly believe each track has the ability to stand on it’s own in a randomized playlist. The album as a whole, though, has a ten to fifteen minute life span before my light heart and mind become restless and ready to soar on to new sounds. The entire Wet Kisses release is currently available free to download and order (for a suggested donation) from http://www.leaftreeanddowney.com. This release does deserve to be heard and appreciated by the right ears and, especially at the asking price, I’d say it is worth the listen.

Pascal Comelade is, apparently, a French pioneer of minimal, experimental music dating back to the early days of the synthesizer. The track listings in this compilation of early works spells out the instrumentation used in each, more often things like toy keyboards, toy saxophones and regular acoustic pianos than actual synths (in this case, to be precise, the Synthi EMS-AKS). Clocking in at just over 41 minutes, most of the 26 tracks appear to be not much more than short pieces of sonic wallpaper, in the form of tape loops, chiming and tinkling little abstract melodies, simple scales, and ambient treatments. In a couple of the songs ("Fluence" and "Ready-made 4", tracks numbers 1 and 21) are heard swooshy electric guitar overlays, strongly reminiscent of those on Robert Fripp & Brian Eno's 1973 epic "Heavenly Music Corporation," two years precedent to the starting date of this CD retrospective. (Eno and Michael Nyman are, in fact, listed among his influences.) There may be question as to Comelade's possible influence on important Industrial/EBM ancestors such as Throbbing Gristle or Cabaret Voltaire, but clearly his work is not as truly pioneering as might be assumed.

Nor, in the present time, has he moved on much beyond his toy piano arrangements, or improved his original repertoire. An online look at his more recent catalog reveals weird, ethnic-sounding hybrid titles (seldom with any accompanying audio), and covers of old standards like "September Song" and rock songs like the Stones' "Brown Sugar". Still, monsieur Comelade becomes more and more intriguing the more one listens and investigates--and this reviewer can only conclude that Back to Schizo may be the most promising and logical starting point.