The latest album from Retrogramme, For Our Dearly Departed, blends elements of Electro, EBM, IDM and Pop hooks to create varied moods across a soundscape that flows organically from track to track. Rare for an Electronic band, none of the tracks ever seem to repeat themselves even as they all feature the same formula of ambient layers and mostly ethereal vocals floating over slightly glitchy loops and slick production values.
For those coming from an Industrial/EBM world the album’s highlights will be the remixes at the end, which are generally crunchier and will be a little more familiar to your ears. You’ll fall in love with the distorted and sinister vocals on “Cancer Remissed [Force Drift vs. Retrogramme].” There’s also the way that aggressive and distorted synths smash against the lighter vocal styles on “Patricia [Your Dirty Habit Remix],” as well as this track’s more IDM-esque minimalist synth lines that run over growling, stomping beats cutting in and out.
All in all, a fine offering from Retrogramme, and I’ll be curious to see how their work evolves.