STYLE: Dance/Electronic RATING OUR PRODUCT CODE: 4932-831 LABEL: Sarabellum 2251972 FORMAT: CD Album ITEMS: 1 RRP: £4.99
Reviewed by Mike Rimmer
Joey Belville continues to make great music with that '80s vibe. Still soaked in the sound of Duran Duran, Erasure et al but these days also embracing a plethora of '90s state of the art sounds, this self-titled fourth album only proves what we already knew about our Joey - he makes GREAT dance rock music and is woefully underappreciated. Less clubby than some of the other makers of American dance, strong on melody and this time covering a wider variety of styles, this is the best Echoing Green album yet! From the poppy "Tonight", the catchy "The Power Cosmic" and the furious sequencers and pounding beat of "Supermodel Citizen" through to Joey having fun with the instrumental hip hop track "Freak Out" and a couple of curious cover versions of Men Without Hats' "Safety Dance" and the more obscure "Accidentally 4th St (Gloria)", these are top tunes! Taking in some diverse influences, "Elyon" is great and it has a strong trancey Asian feel with sitar and some Eastern sounding percussion - full of atmosphere. There's something about the quieter passages in "Redemption" that despite the undercurrent of jungle remind me of Dusty & PSB's "Nothing Has Been Proved". GULP! Overall what wins through in this album is the sheer quality!
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