New Music

Woo! Yes! A package arrived yesterday!



The following CDs were in the package:

Negative Format - Gradients
Seabound - Come Forward: Live in Berlin
Angels & Agony - Unison
Angels & Agony - Eternity
De/Vision- Noob
De/Vision - Da-Mals Limited Edition
De/Vision - The Best of De/Vision Limited Edition


Some of these were released a year or two earlier but I had decided to wait. De/Vision is a long-lived German synthpop band with excellent singles like 'Dress me when I bleed' and 'Drifting Sideways'. De/Vision's new album 'Noob' should be interesting. De/Vision had started with a late eighties Depeche Mode sound initially but had evolved over the years. De/Vision had been experimenting in recent years with some efforts being stellar and others mediocre. I am curious to the direction they had taken this time.

'Da-Mals' is an album of early demos, their formative years. The De/Vision compilation seemed to be the least interesting of the lot with a collection of singles from a few of their later albums. I wonder when De/Vision will release a singles collection, if ever.*



Negative Format's new one! 'Gradients'! I can't wait to listen to it. The last one, 'Moving past the Boundaries' was splendid. Seabound's live collection should be interesting but the choice of tracks has me somewhat puzzled.

Angels & Agony is a Dutch futurepop band. The sound of Angels & Agony has been compared to VNV Nation. One of their earlier efforts was actually produced by Ronan Harris of VNV Nation, thus. Still, their brand of stirring ebm/futurepop is much more uniform than the highs and lows of VNV Nation. I have the 'Darkness' single and 'Avatar' album. I am wondering if I should secure the limited edition of 'Unison' and their other singles like 'Forever' and 'Salvation'.

I am still awaiting for the following two CDs:

Erasure - Stormchaser
Camouflage - Archive 01

I wish VNV Nation would release singles.


*I think it is not likely now since De/Vision went through a few record labels including majors like WEA and Sony/BMG.