Ceiling, an Ontario, Canada-based experimental label, is the creative font whence cometh this nifty little 3" limited edition CD EP, shared by the two indicated artists. A seemingly arrythmic but irresistible patter of tribal electro-noise pops draws you into a compelling track one (The Infant Cycle's "Unrelated Work Tapes"), while ominous, minimal rumblings from the bowels of an infernal factory chug and churn throughout track number two (Davison's "Phonography").

All you get are only the two tracks, which is a letdown, partly because these are way more pleasing to the ear than anything I have thus far heard by the Hafler Trio, to name one. Another disappointment is that the tracks average only six minutes apiece, and by the time each one finishes, the appetite is barely whetted. These two admittedly similar crypto-noise artistes are on to something, and more, if not longer, pieces by each would have made this EP essential and not merely collectible.

Fans of legendary goth/glam-meisters Sex With Lurch should rejoice at Lurch instigator Robbie Quine's latest foray into Rockabilly territory, and can safely ignore the above star rating. Everyone else take note: while musically something short of the caliber of sonic shock value that the Cramps are known for (and not to mention the high camp of the long-departed Celebrity Skin), at least Quine's lyrics are provocative enough to give you a lot to think about. His ironic and iconic musings remind one of Brian Eno, a personage he name-checks in track number three, "Fire of Love." Quine's vocal delivery itself is a gentle and sincere Bowie/Ray Davies/Ian Hunter blend, albeit minus the considerable talent of each, and as Beyond the Valley... progresses, the songs get downright sentimental and syrupy. Indeed it borders dangerously on the maudlin, as Quine takes on a strong hint of Neil Young in "Tarot Cards" and "I Killed Love".

On the other hand, the raunch factor is turned up to the max on opener "Hellhound" and track seven, "Baby Wants a Corndog," bringing with it all the sleazy desires that only males (of both sexual persuasions) can relate to. But only the sincerely bubblegum-ish "Candy Store" makes the best use of the Barbarellatones' bizarre and eclectic intent to synthesize a new hybrid of classic American rock 'n' roll. More polish and better playing throughout the CD would do wonders for tracks like the cross-dressing ode "Wicked Wahine", and generally would make the disc's simmering eroticism "pop". Only the ending of the bonus track "Cobra Dance" hints at the performance venom (pun intended) this release is capable of.

Way more inscrutable and abstract than their previous release Autopsy of a Dream, Verplanken's 5-song follow-up EP The Missing Tracks is to say the least something of a non sequitur. "Voyage" and "Island," tracks one and three, resemble nothing so much as an atonal wash of sound reminiscent of the Hafler Trio or Brian Eno's ultra-minimal Apollo: Atmospheres & Soundtracks album. Unlike Autopsy, there are no drums or rhythms of any kind. Not at all a bad recording as far as sound quality goes, and if echoey synth and disjointed bass patterns float your boat; but make no mistake, these Missing Tracks are definitely not party music.

Fripp-like guitar treatments on track two, "On the Edge," do little to dispel the disappointment one feels at complete lack of kinship with prior Verplanken work. Instead of bouncing along while exploring a whimsical and amusing new planet, we're cast adrift in space.

The debut CD of Little Plastic Pilots, brainchild of Los Angeles native and resident Sam Nelson, contains almost everything good about newer ambient electronica. A lot more emotional and introspective than, say, Lemon Jelly or Zero 7, LPP boasts an easygoing yet potent downtempo groove on tracks like the first, "Words and Letters In Color", and the fifth, "A Courtyard Full of Sun". The interspersed, minute-plus vignettes, such as "The Grumpy Chinaman" and "A Sam Is Born" give this disc a Moussorgsky-like "pictures at an exhibition" quality--you can just imagine little, secret stories unfolding.

Thankfully LPP is forward-looking enough in his sound not to revive too many trite 80s-style machine-musik artifacts, a retro mistake too many of his peers make. Nelson is developing a nice technique of rhythmically blending stuttering voice-samples and even some cheesy Speak-and-Spell syllables that occasionally add just the right hint of humor. Any more than that would be too much, but obviously he knows this, and stays on the correct side of clever.

This CD is already going in an utterly fantastic direction, but if the songs were somehow more sonically descriptive than they are, and the tracks a bit longer (or if there were simply more of the longer tracks), it would amount to nothing less than a sunshiny epic for the very near future. Which is when we'll hopefully be hearing from Little Plastic Pilots again.

The most frustrating thing about dance music is that most of it becomes dated or overplayed within a couple of years, or sooner. Not only that, but the music in question may be in some sort of niche subgenre that perhaps even your close friends don't listen or dance to. When you actually care enough to wonder where all those hours and hours of dance tracks and influences wind up over the years, you certainly don't count on the Club crowd to care along with you. But I have a hard time imagining a release such as Wowie Zowie dating badly, if at all, and I can't imagine anyone *not* caring, once this is listened to.

As far as vocal House goes, this hard electro offering of Superchumbo's hits the spot. High-octane all the way through, WZ is extremely versatile in both the dancefloor and pop departments. Superchumbo, t/n Tom Stephan, is of American persuasion based in London (at the moment the world's most cosmopolitan city), and his international sensibility shows through really well. He treats his work with the best of all possible House influences, and all of his guest vocalists' performances shine through accordingly.

Keep in mind that these tracks are all original Superchumbo. Three had already been prior Billboard chart-toppers in the U.S.: "Irresistible", "This Beat Is," and the title track. Some of them are run together as "mixes", not blended but simply butted against one another, with tempos changing cleanly. This makes the CD both listenable as a continuous party mix, yet still useful for a working DJ situation. Listen for Samantha Fox orgasmically cooing on "Sugar", some salty language from Neil Tennant of the Pet Shop Boys on "Tranquilizer", and Bashiyra on "U Know I Love It". My personal favorite, "Everything U", features Stephan's own vocals. A few tracks may appeal more to the gay side of the spectrum than the straight ("Bring It", "Filthy Dirty"); believe me when I say there is more than enough love to go around for everybody. Like I said earlier, Wowie Zowie should keep its lustre for quite a while.