If you know Aleixa, you know what's coming. 100% ear candy.
For those who haven't heard Aleixa, they're clearly a pop band gone horribly awry. Very pretty harmonized female vocals, pop/dance programming, and angrily driven guitars take the unsuspecting listener on one fun ride. Now if you read that description and wonder if it can really work, your skepticism is not unjustified! Let me tell you right now, though, unequivocally -- it works. And although the end result won't be heavy enough for everyone reading Dead, it's going to appeal to a lot of you who wouldn't think it would.
Anyway, for those of you who have heard their first album Honeylake, this album is generally in the same vein as that was. What was pop has maybe moved slightly toward techno, and the harmonizing voice is different, but the overall sound is basically unchanged. That's a part of why this cd doesn't get a higher rating, in fact. Although it's good and I like it, it seems to start at the same point as Honeylake rather than pick up where the earlier left off, if you know what I mean. I don't see the growth or improvement that I'd hoped for, just another record, and one that is missing a song to match the torrent of energy that "Unloved" brought us last time. The horns on "Black and Blue" are great, and the 7/8 sections in "Disfigured" will definitely throw the dancers among us for a loss, but on the whole I'm hearing more of what I expected as opposed to what I was hoping for.
Anyway, Aleixa isn't for everybody. If you don't want to listen to anything that not at least as heavy as, say, Klank, this ain't gonna be your band. If you like a little guitar driven electronica every now and again, though, this is a great cd to have in your car to shorten that drive to work in the morning.
8/10
Other coverage for this album
Decapolis 2000Reviewed by ConradDark industrial with two strong female vocalists. What you have in Aleixa is a lot of programming, huge metal guitars, and super strong female vocalists - all of which are way above average. This kills their previous release. The programming is really complex and deep. There are even horns on this album, real horns, not synthesized ones - whoa. The guitars add that hard edge to the music…Decapolis 2000Reviewed by Tom BastianThis CD opens up with what I would consider pretty much your standard techno dance song. Repeated vocals, moving beats, and complex rhythms. The first track and at various times throughout the entire CD they really take advantage of the whole stereo speaker concept, sending sounds back and forth between your speakers. I guess thats one cool thing that many techno based bands try to do. I have to…HM Magazine #79Reviewed by Doug Van PeltEver since the Stryper tribute album on Flying Tart, this band has slowly but methodically been building underground credibility. The quality vocals of Laurel Snapper meld beautifully with the looping drums and crunchy guitars. A song like "Purge," with its dance loops and techno beat would ordinarily be dismissed as dance or house music were it not for the savagely industro-metal guitars all…The Phantom Tollbooth 1999Reviewed by Steven S. BaldwinThe main musical force behind Aleixa, Kevin 131 (don't ask about the numbers), once remarked that his band bore the sound of "Debbie Gibson in a blender." A few years later, Debbie Gibson's star has been eclipsed by even younger, peppier new teen singers. Perhaps these days Kevin 131 is referring to Aleixa as "Britney Spears in a blender." Regardless, this tongue-in-cheek description is, of…Dead Zine 1999Reviewed by D_ListerA quick recipe for you: 2 cups milk 1 New Order CD 1 Ministry CD (preferably The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste) 2 or 3 tracks by the B-52's to taste 2 or 3 horn parts to taste Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor, and blend thoroughly. Pour into a frosty glass and enjoy your Aleixa milkshake. That's about the best description I can come up with for this band. Or put…Similar sounding releases
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