Track Listing: UrSocool, The Age of Industry, And I Bleed, Hardwired, A Game of You, Undone, Consume or Die, Don Juan Returns, Good Intentions.

I have a strange feeling people will generally like Division Six. It fits in well with other hard goth rock projects in terms of electronic and physical instrument balance with a side of sensible sampling. All in all, very nice. Sometimes a band just hits you over the head and you know that there will be tracks that will become nightclub staples for years to come. Not sure if this band is there yet but they are very, very close and it might be the vocals that are the problem.

The use of dual vocals is really interesting and best executed when one voice is the clear leader instead of them both singing the same thing at the same time. Both voices are strong and on pitch, very emotional and haunting. The strongest example of especially fabulous vocal layering is “And I Bleed” which is one of my favorite tracks off the album. All in all the vocals compliment the music and sound very meshed. The loose production hurts this neat effect since it clearly sounds like the vocals were recorded in another room and sound separated. Before I come down too hard on the production, I will mention that it’s a d.i.y. job, so I’ll be nice about it. It’s not perfect. It is decent enough and only seems apparent in how the vocals meet the music.

The music is well balanced and has nice smooth hooks and gripping percussion. No complaints about anything there. Despite the slight offness of the vocal/music mixing, and it could just be me, this is definitely a CD worth checking out.

Division Six is comprised of John Seput (MDK, SeveredHEDthump) and David “Deuce” Kizzia (Murder of Crows); both originally hail from New York City but didn’t start collaborating musically until they both moved to Los Angeles. They’re keeping busy with live performances in the Southwestern US area. For more information, check out their website at www.thisisdivisionsix.com

Track Listing: Lilith’s Daughter, Eye Contact, Lady, Find the Lady, Requiem, Suicide Pact, Paradise Then, Irrational Anthem, Lisa’s Funeral–The Glass Moved By Itself, Atomic Roses, Even Now, Dance of the China Dolls, Moments, The Fool With Hammers (Vienna 88), Suicide Pact (Vienna 88).

I thought this CD sounded familiar. I was right. For those who might not know, Edward Ka-Spel was the singer/songwriter for The Legendary Pink Dots. This solo work definitely has Pink Dots flavor and if you like the Dots, you’ll really enjoy this venture into the unfiltered world of Ka-Spel. A compilation of random releases over the years, Laugh China Doll is a fabulous collection of vintage experimental electronic music.

Those aren’t reproduced vintage synth sounds you’re hearing. Those are the real thing. The melodies are simple and starkly under-developed. Absolutely, wonderfully fluff-free. It’d be disrespectful to pick apart a legend’s work. I love the gritty, undeniably English vocals. So many artists in the goth/industrial genre look to Ka-Spel for inspiration and you’ll hear a lot of classic influence. This release is basically a slice of history and a joy to listen to. Absolutely entertaining and amazing.

I also won’t comment about the production quality. This album’s contents come from previously melted tapes and old vinyl and if you ask me, it’s a miracle it sounds like it does. This is a total keeper and a must have for any old school synth/electric music enthusist.

For more information about Ka-Spel, go to www.brainwashed.com/eks. You can also check out The Legendary Pink Dots site at www.brainwashed.com/lpd/main2.html

Track Listing: A Good Game, The Dream or The Reality, Done, Where Am I Going, Without Pity, Useless.

If I was a psycho killer, this would be my soundtrack. If I was making a movie about a psycho killer, I would use this in my soundtrack. And I don’t mean the humorous type of psycho killer movie. I mean the truly screwed up in a Seven sort of way, psycho killer movie. Yup. This CD draws those sort of pictures in my head.

It’s just wonderfully creepy from the composition to the rough, droning vocals. My favorite track is the first, “A Good Game”, which reminds me a little of Underworld’s “Born Slippy”, in that it’s repetitious and builds on a single motif. But this is something infinitely more dark and angry. What is going on in Italy, where Alessandro Volpi, the songwriter and vocalist, is certainly up to something. It’s all good.

He is helped in this musical mahem by Gian and Claudio Palo (drums).If you hear a little NIN flavor, it’s because Volpi claims Reznor as an influence. But don’t worry – no NIN cloning going on here. The composition and programming is tight, a definite finished product which is refreshing for a demo. As an added bonus, you get that dirty, real sound that comes from using real instruments along with the programed synth. I bet these guys totally rock live and would keep their name on my radar. It’s a definite keeper and something I’ll listen to when I feel in a devilish mood.

For more information, visit their website at www.intothehole.com.

Track Listing: Amish Rake Fight - Artist with a Thompson, Milkfish - Shame, Bounte - Going Nowhere, Micronaut - Quartz Clock, Chris Randall - Be There Tonight, S.Sturgis - Euphondisson, Atomica - Airways, Aizome - Terminal, Scanalyzer - Culture Shock, Graphic - The Things You Do, Sister Machine Gun - Sink.

There is nothing not to like about this album. It is the ideal mix of mellow electronic music to listen to while you work. It is neither so slow it puts you to sleep or so fast that your heart starts palpitating. Just lovely. Because I have no real critical opinion about this CD, let’s talk about the contributing artists. They are, in track order, Amish Rake Fight (love this name), Milkfish, Bounte, Micronaut, Chris Randall, S.Sturgis, Atomica, Aizome, Scanalyzer, Graphic, and Sister Machine Gun. Notable tracks include the debut of Graphic with “The Things You Do” and Chris Randall’s (of Sister Machine Gun fame) first solo track, “Be There Tonight”.

The balance of the production work is done by Chris Randall and Wade Alin, who did Atomica and Milkfish’s contribution. You might remember my review of Atomica’s release, Metropolitan not too long ago. Fortunately, the track they picked for this compilation blends very nicely and doesn’t sound like cloned Portishead, which was my only complaint about that CD. Komposi003 flows nicely from start to end and you can listen to it repeatedly without getting bored.

There isn’t a bad song on the entire CD; well worth digging up and buying. For more information, go to Positron! Records’ website at www.positronrecords.com