Emplosia - Emplosia (2006)

Russian synthpop, this debut album from the startlingly beautiful duo of Darja & Julia proves well worth checking out. Their music is a mix of old-skool synthpop & more modern danceable elements with enough good tracks to prove that they're far more than just a pair of pretty faces. What's more, the standard gets progressively higher as the album proceeds, no mean feat when there are 15 tracks to deal with (although the last two are pretty decent remixes).

"Sadness" opens the album in a pleasantly bleepy manner with a likeably quirky feel soon coming to the fore, not unlike Cellulloide's more recent works although the Russian lyrics, courtesy of one Alex Flop, add a much more distinctive flavour. That a number of tracks have English lyrics, thanks again to Mister Flop, has to be a good move in widening the album's appeal. Among these are the lively & pacey duo of "Terra X" & "Goodbye" as well as "Fire" which has a good solid chorus & "Girl From Hanau" which impresses still further due to the effective synth & piano backing that provides a nicely melancolic edge. One massive surprise is the cover of Project Pitchfork's "Daimonium" which originally appeared on the Russian Pitchfork tribute album & appears again here although the light synthpop treatment it receives here might take some getting used to. Overall, though, this album came as a pleasant surprise & if you can overcome the inevitable language difficulties then synthpoppers are sure to find plenty to their liking here.

(Carl Jenkinson, electrogarden.com)


Tracklist:

01. Sadness (Plasticine Days)
02. Terra X
03. She
04. Daimonion
05. Never
06. Goodbye
07. Vector
08. I Would Have
09. Fire
10. Girl From Hanau
11. Restricted Area
12. Key
13. Eternity
14. I Would Have (Squawk Mix By Babymax)
15. I Would Have (Fast Sash Addicted Mix By Inner Conflict)

Click above track 1, 2 for album sampler.