I get a lot of requests via email for reviews and such, mostly digital releases only, and although I usually do a read-thru, I don't always bother to check out the music. Most of the time because it doesn't fit our genre parameters, but also for other reasons; quality being one of the most important. Every once in a while though something slips through and impresses, and such is the case with SINE. (Yes, this band/project spells it with ALL CAPS.) SINE is led by Rona Rougeheart, initially a drummer in Austin, Texas, but now the band's singer. SINE isn't the sort of project you'd expect from a drummer; this is a band that weaves dance beats with industrial noise and layers of booming bass, synths and guitars into a mix of jagged textures and dark, lush fusions. SINE signed recently with Emergency Hearts, an indie collaborative music label/ media project in Austin, TX founded by author, musician and gallery owner Scott Crow. The initial SINE release for Emergency Hearts entitled, ‘Desire, Denial and Paramania,’ is an 11 track collection featuring select songs from SINE’s albums, 'INSOMNIÆ' and 'Injected,' recorded between the years 2016-2020 and includes collaborations with Curse Mackey (Pigface, Evil Mothers, My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult), producer Sean Beavan (Nine Inch Nails, 3Teeth, Slayer) and legendary industrial vocalist Chris Connelly (Ministry, Revolting Cocks, Pigface) with remixes by Jack Dangers (Meat Beat Manifesto), DÐ (pronounced ‘deth’), and dark pop duo, NITE.

Perhaps one of the reasons I chose to review this project is my weakness for female-fronted electro-industrial bands. (There are less of them than you might think!) That Rona tends to dress on the fetish side and looks incredibly hot doesn't hurt either. While she doesn't have a super-dynamic voice, Ms. Rougeheart's vocals are just right for the material; melodic when it needs to be, tough or coy when the music calls for it. Chris Connelly and Curse Mackey's vocals work very well with the material too, adding a different dimension. Since I don't see any other primary musicians named in the band, I assume Rona takes care of all the synths/programming too, and she's pretty good at it, squeezing out all sorts of electronic mayhem. Of course, the beat-work is spot on. The songs are very good too. The most memorable one is "Love High," perhaps the least industrial and most commercial sounding of the lot.

This is not one of those sequencer-driven dancey industrial albums, although there are some tracks you can dance to, 'Desire, Denial and Paramania' has a lot more depth than that. As for the 3 remixes on the album (regular readers of my reviews know I don't generally care for remixes), they're different enough from the original tracks, but the one I liked the best was the Dethmarch Remix of "Need to Bleed," and my least favorite was the Meat Beat Manifesto Remix of "Desolate District."

The album has a lot going for it and SINE's next one could be even better. If the videos are any indication, I think SINE could be one helluva live act, and Rona Rougeheart just may be be the Joan Jett of the electro-industrial set. This is one act to keep your eye on.