It’s been a while but Barry is back and once again looking to highlight three albums which you may have missed.
Minitel Rose – The French Machine
Minitel Rose openly claim their biggest influences are the A-Team and Knightrider which explains why their artwork has a classic C64 game aesthetic. Steeped in throwbacks to a decade gone by on the outside, after listening to The French Machine you begin to see the nostalgia is pretty much cosmetic and the record fits into the modern electro canon. Their sound is unashamedly French, it succeeds in fusing the melodic sensibility of Klaxons’ with the over the top clichéd Justice synths with great success. If you like electro, this group will captivate you from start to finish with their gung-ho attitude. The only downside with this is at seven tracks, it’s very short but it’s quality not quantity and they have shown some great promise with this release.
The Black Box Revelation – Set Your Head on Fire
BBR are a Belgian duo who have already made a name for themselves in their homeland. Their sound is a ferocious fusion of blues, rock ‘n’ roll, guitar excess and immense drumming, something like a bastard love child of The White Stripes, BRMC, and The Stooges. The album is simple yet impressive with an abundance of dirty blues riffs and thundering drums which blend together perfectly to create a raucous sound. BBR endeavour to charm and endear you through honesty, recklessness and their aforementioned simplicity. This is the straight up rock ‘n’ roll album Kings of Leon could have or should have made instead of going all stadium rock on us!
The Black Box Revelation – I think I Like You
Filthy Dukes – Nonsense in the Dark
Filthy Dukes are a London trio who began their careers as quality remixers. Early 2009 saw them release their own material for the first time. The album loosely reflects most of what has been good in electronic music over the past decade or so, creating an eclectic mix of styles and influences which thankfully doesn’t become disjointed at any time. There is plenty on here for all fans of electro, from the quirky synth heavy electro pop of ‘This Rhythm’ and ‘Elevator’ to giddy bass driven electro and debauched party vibes of ‘You Better Stop’ and ‘Cul-De-Sac’. To be honest they haven’t reinvented the wheel with this one but it all works well, it is not simply an exercise in nostalgia, who knows in time they may create their own unique sound but until that day this is more than enough to keep parties hoppin’.
Filthy Dukes – Nonsense in the Dark
