[Human Blue - Electric Roundabout]

First of all, I think Human Blue makes really good morning music. Tracks like

"Protonica" and "Sandal Wood" are unforgettable, and they'd set my

expectations too high.. Well, I'm a bit disappointed with this album. What I

don't like about it is:

 

- each track sounds exactly the same. Same sounds, same arrangements,

everything.. I can't get rid of the impression that it all is just a single

very very long track.. no wonder it gets boring after a couple of listens. The

first album was much more diverse, that's for sure..

 

- some synth sounds are not fine-tuned to fit in the scale! The last track is

my biggest disappointment - some sounds are about half a tone off!! I don't

get it, it's hardly possible that the synths he used didn't have a fine tune

knob, or something.. Arghh maybe, it's just me, but I hate it when an

otherwise wonderful track gets spoiled by things like this!

 

- some tracks are a bit cheesy.. but that's just my (subjective) opinion.

 

Overall: 6/10 (would've been 8/10 if not for the fine tuning problems.. I'm

really sensitive to this, especially in melodic tracks

[Shakta - Silicon Trip]

I really don't understand those saying a track is bad because it's "too

short".. It's a really strange attitude. Shakta's tracks are short because

they're meant to be! It's like an outburst of pure energy.. very intelligent

melodies and SUPERB production. One of my all-time favorites.

[Double Dragon - Continuum]

I hesitated before buying this album, because the name Double Dragon was not

familiar to me at all, but when I finally bought it I could not believe my

ears. This is one of the most astonishing releases I've ever heard, and the

track number 8 blew me away completely - I've heard it before in a DJ set, and

at that time I realised that it's the best psy-trance track I've ever heard (I

didn't know it's Double Dragon then). Steve Good is a true magician, his

production skills can easily match those of Simon Posford - perfectly worked

out percussion lines, very complex patterns, with NO randomness at all! Every

sound is EXACTLY where it should be, it's a rare talent (yeah, HuxFlux and GMS

sound much more random to me). Lots of weird processed FX, twisted grooves,

all in 3d, NO sign of cheese, it just keeps growing! Not repetitive at all,

but at the same time NOT overloaded! (in my opinion ) Before I heard this

album, I considered Infected's percussion very interesting and worked out, now

it sounds childish to me (I'm biased, listening to Double Dragon right now, so

don't believe me . Yeah, this release it reminds me of Joujouka, but

definitely more trancey and less techno-ish (just the beginning of track 8

makes me fly away!). Overall, it's currently the best full-on psy-trance album

I've ever heard.