Various Artists
Eclectica2: a taste of indie electronica
Reviewed by Brian Vincent McGovern
Just as this issue's cover feature proves that DIY isn't limited to punk rock, this disc proves that electronica isn't limited to club and dance music - even though lots of those genres have made the scene what it is. Some of the coolest indie electronica made it on here. Artists like Leonard Zimmerman have more subversive instrumental stuff like "God Made Orange," while Erinfall's "Land of Venus" is harder, with guitar, and wears Prodigy as a possible musical influence. It was also cool to hear the rock & roll guitar in "Atomic Murmur," by Smelling Salt. But my favorite, perhaps, is the unexpectedly airy vocals and piano amid the frantic beats in Divine Rhythm's "Enraptured." While most of this stuff is most appropriately suited for the whole N•Soul vibe, others could probably make the jump to the Flaming Fish end of the genre spectrum. The electronic cross section here is the beauty of this disc.