DIRK DA DAVO -The Unreal (Single Digital) (Dancedelic D) A black void after the termination of The Neon Judgment? Forget it! Resting on his laurels under a Spanish sun is just a little pastime for Dirk Da Davo who remains pretty active under his solo name and produces some nice tracks at the appropriate times. Only recently there was the single ‘King Of Fools’, which now has been overtaken by ‘The Unreal’. Those who have paid close attention and who follow Da Davo's YouTube TV channel know that his release is not exactly brand new as such. After all, it was already unleashed on to the world last year,but received a significant update in which some percussion was added. The great looking artwork by Jörge Schanze that might remind us to a Joker is more of a coincidence.Or not … false and fake can have many forms. [DQ] HYDROM LINE - Hydrom Line Edition 2021 (CD) (Wool-E Discs) Hydrom Line was a short-term side project of Liquid G.'s Peter Van Bogaert (synths,vocals) with the help of Kandinsky (Bart Verlent, on guitar) and Sandra B. (Sandra Boschmans, vocals on ‘Reflections’ and ‘Realities’). Only two Hydrom Line tapes were released at the time: ‘Hydrom Line’ in 1991 and “Lost Experiments Of Satan's Pretty Place”, a split of Hydrom Line with Liquid G. from 1992. Now 30 years later, the best material from those two tapes has been re-recorded for “Hydrom Line Edition 2021” (10 tracks, 41 minutes playing time).And one new track was also recorded, the tenth and final track "On Dope". If Liquid G. stands for powerful, tight and in one way or another typically Belgian sounding EBMand electro,this is also the case for this HydromLine.HydromLine reminds one of old Klinik or even more of very old Suicide Commando… [HV] HOCICO - HyperViolent (CD/Digital/Vinyl) (Out Of Line) “Intro” is a quiet, smokey interlude setting the stage for the eerie sounds to come. “The Garden” comes in with a simple, one-two, one-two, one-two, plodding beat, like a Raven “tap tap tapping at mybedroomdoor.”Each drop,however,sustains the reverb and it bleeds into the next, leaving no aural spaces open. The near ethereal vocals are reminiscent of Switchblade Symphony and there’s an aching, pleading, but almost sarcastic tone. It’s as if she knows that you know the game.But she also knows that you can’t resist her entreaties to“come intomy garden.”You both know it’ll be wrong.But you’re going to go through with it anyway. If there is a dance track on the album, it would be “Nightmares.”No heavy EBM stomping, but it pulsates and throbs into a dream state, perfect for spinning and gesticulating, physically expressing the pains of a nightmarish existence. The riffs burn with angst as the synths flitter chromatically above the melody. [CM] www.peek-a-boo-magazine.be DEAD MAN’S HILL - Inner Journeys … (CD) Backfire sets things of with a blast as the opener. Great to hear how subtle every sound, sample and noise finds its place in this slightly slower opener. The typical atmosphere of earlier work is very recognisable.If you like dark,lingering electrowith a touch of industrial, then Reinvention Of Pain is right up your street.With Echoes, DIVE comes to the rescue.A lingering song in which the characteristic voice of Dirk Ivens brings some noisy accents. Halfway through the album, the sound ebbs away to almost nothing, only to rise again in its grandeur.Another of Jan's heroes,Cyan (The Eternal Afflict) joins the fray on Blame It On The Moon. The song has more future-pop allure and is wonderfully danceable. Musically, the whole thing hovers between the rough and gothic impact it once started with and more contemporary electro. Where it has always been Jan's goal with Mildreda to make atmospheric music with a dark edge,he has succeeded perfectly with this album. - 28 - (Noctivagant) [JB] Read full reviews on http://www.peek-a-boo-magazine.be/en/reviews/
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