Front 242 – Pulse

From what I've seen, people's opinions about this album are divided. Some love it, some hate it, and maybe some don't care either way. I love it. This album is amazing, from start to finish. Compared to their older releases, the production quality isn't as lofi, and it's a lot more solid. The arrangements and structure of tracks seem like they were meticulously planned. Maybe it was done with software, or maybe old analog synths. But, judging by the list of equipment on their site, I'd say it was some of both. My guess as to why long time 242 fans might not like this album is because it's not as heavy as their older releases. It's a bit more accessible to someone who isn't a huge fan of the Industrial/Electro-Industrial genres. It's more of an Electro/IDM release, although calling it IDM may be a bit of an understatement. Whether you're a long time 242 fan, or just discovering them for the first time, give this album a listen. It's definitely worth it!

Definitely not a great release from the Belgian masters. First, it is just your average techno, second, the sound is quite flat. On the first point, track are flowing from beginning to end without any special interesting point, and a boring lack of individual personality, once the mark of 242's tracks, and on the second front, it sounds like it was produced on a laptop, and misses that big fat and original sound that made so many 242 tracks instant classics. Of course there's lot of sonic work here, and certainly clever arrangements, but as we say here, "La montagne accouche d'une souris" (the moutains give birth to a mouse).

This album isn't "bad" in a taste or musical sense, but just an average trancey-electronic release and, IMO ;-), sadly uninteresting... I hope they will come back on more meaningfull things, and stop confusing modernity with techno-oriented sound.