Black Cell - Phase 6 Vol.1+2
On a dreary and cold Monday morning, it can be hard to find something decent to review... BUT I managed to find something! I´m not a HUGE fan of EBM/Electro-industrial, but I don´t mind whatever came out of the 80s. Huge admirer of Fad Gadget, Portion Control and the early Front 242 without a doubt! What I cannot stand and listen to are trashy 90s electro-industrial like Læetherstrp, Wumbscutt, Funkervogt and the rest of the cybergoth-bunch feeling trendy with aggro-tech and all that drama bullshit. But our time with cool minimal-wave/post-industrial acts with danceable and catchy tunes (good taste) is looking promising, and Black Cell is one of them.
In a matter of few seconds, I fell in love with this act and their sound!. Perfectly executed, cold and machine-like (almost 8-bit/c64) synth-keys gives you that robotic and analog feeling, lush and atmospheric John Foxx´ish dark melodies and decent sounding grim Klinik´ish vocals. These two gents (in nice outfits) may look like decent chaps doing future pop, and being into the likes of Covenant and VNV Nation BUT DONT LET IT FOOL YOU!. They practically know WHAT sounds cool and what doesn't!. It just sounds bloody right, modern minimal wave/synth-pop with a truly grim post-industrial aftertaste.
As for the information about this act, they are actually WAY older then I thought they would be. Formed in 1996, and have had several releases (4 physical released albums and 1 EP) on Backwards Records based in Denver. And the latest thing is these 2 independent released cassettes, Phase 6 vol.1+2 which are just amazing. For me, it is a must-buy!... Give it a try and lighten up your Monday!. Also worth checking out is the article published by Bandcamp, about the industrial/dark-wave scene happening in Denver (see link below)
Bandcamp:
Facebook:
Homepage: