Rise of the machines …
Belgian delicacies “a la Napolitana” … Why not? EK products offers us Belgium’s finest, one after another. This time we’ll review the [relatively] new NTRSN-album.
Jungle soundzzz and a whole lot of technology, that was my first impression of “Hardlines”, looking at the inside of the Digipak and hearing the first notes of the album. You are welcomed by African rhythms [“Parascope”, intro] that are followed by slick beats and top-heavy synths … what you HEAR is what you get: a “Red Day” with impact! “We Look” cruises into the electronic sunset, gently whispering and “Talkin Blue” picks up the pace, restlessly looking for amusement. Next up: The instrumental “Cutting”, that turns out to be impressive Electro Deluxe! On to “Move On / And No Stop”! Front 242 is IN THA HOUSE, ladies and gentlemen! Danse! Danse! DANSE!!! And no stop … Great retro stuff. Also “Hardlines” is a classy electro track, a bit more “poppy” than the other stuff, mainly because of the vocals. The best song on the album? Maybe the instrumental “Chromatic Move”? FIRE THE CANNONS! Finishing touches are remixes by Autodafeh [“Electric Love”] and Parade Ground [“Electricluv”].
I’m a bit excited about “Hardlines”? You bet your ass! It’s an album packed with brilliant songs. No need to write anything else. Buy or DIE! Thank you Pieter Ntrsn, Paul Mommens and Bd.
Structural finesse…check, [raw] power…check, superb melodies…check, awesome vocals…check, sheer mass/volume…check [15 songs, shaken, not stirred], all present and resulting in music of superior quality!
The real stars on this CD? 31 [!] Machines! Vermona Mars / Oberheim matrix 6 / Marion Systems / Akai VX 600 / Ensoniq VFX / Roland jx8p / Yamaha DX9 / Korg Trident mk 1 / Moog Rogue / Sherman FilterBank 2 / LinnDrum Im2 / MFB schlagzwerg / …, polished, oiled, tuned and brilliantly used!
NTRSN [intrusion]: respect! An intrusive job well done!
Belgium rules the e-waves!