Search - Echo Image, The Echoing Green, Merge :: Synthpop Club Anthems

Danceable Synthpop At Its Best!

K. Frazier | Orange County, CA USA | 11/16/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Pure synthpop dance enjoyment! Although I've never been to a synthpop dance club, I can imagine that this CD is what would be playing. The compilation is packed with 79 minutes' worth of very upbeat remixes by a mixture of some of the more definitive names in synthpop (Echoing Green, Cosmicity, etc) as well as some relative newcomers (Sweep, Echo Image, etc).If you like even a few of the artists on this compilation, I highly recommend picking up a copy because you will be exposed to a lot of other great material! I had never heard anything from New Clear Sky or Merge, but the two songs by these artists are easily two of my favorites on this album. The System22 song is another favorite, featuring the vocals of Reagan from Iris. And of course, the contributions from long-time artists such as Echoing Green, Cosmicity, and Neuroactive do not disappoint. I'd say the style of music is pretty representative of the upbeat side of synthpop. If you enjoy Iris, Cosmicity, Echoing Green, Color Theory, Neuropa, etc, you would definitely like this album. These are all some of my synthpop favorites, and this compilation is one of my favorites from A Different Drum (given the 10 or so that I have by ADD). I bought the CD because 1) I really enjoy the Different Drum label's compilations, and 2) for the low price, it's a great bargain! The music on here is leagues beyond anything you'd hear on the radio.Definitely worth the investment. A great CD for an intense workout or a fun drive on the highway, this CD is packed for a solid 79 minutes of synthpop goodness. Pop it in your CD player, turn up the volume, and dance!"

A Quite Good Idea Actually,

D. H. Richards | Silver Spring, MD USA | 11/10/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"It is no secret that synthpop is one of those genres that gets stuck into a corner- not rock enough to the alt crowd, not "adult" enough for the Norah Jones crowd. Plus the fact that most of the music is "machine" driven further forces synthpop bands into a corner. But by trying to invade a little acre of clubland synthpop has been able to stake out its own piece of the pie. Ok, enough with the metaphors. Here's the review-
Gotta love the Moulin Noir "Spellbound" mix, exciting, new wave flavoured (with a "u") dance pop."Vast" by New Clear Sky is a great song and the mix here just adds a cool ebm'ish feel. Same for Sweep, a great song that gets a harder edge.In fact really all of the mixes here are truly club ready. If that takes them out of traditional 80s style synthpop, so be it. At least it breaths fresh air into the brain-dead club music one hears so often at 1 a.m."

Not what I thought...

D. Hansen | UT | 04/16/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I ordered this CD off the strength of the title (because who doesn't love the classic club anthems?) and I was disappointed. While the songs do fit the description I was expecting more songs along the lines of Front 242's Headhunter or maybe even an Echoing Green song. Now I have a CD with mostly mediocre and a couple better-than-average synthpop tracks. It's nice to have but I don't feel it lives up to the hype."