Search - Celebrate the Nun :: Meanwhile

Excellent Release from Synthpop's Lost Era

SandmanVI | Glen Allen, VA United States | 03/28/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"By '89 or so everything in the U.S. scene was shifting from Glam Metal to Grunge. At any rate, synth pop wasn't anywhere in the equation. But if you were hitting the right clubs you could here its heart still beating... barely. "Meanwhile" is one of the great albums from that lost period. Luckily with the renewed interest in the genre and bands popping up everywhere, fans are starting to learn more about bands like Cetu javu and Anything Box. Strangely I haven't seen many CTN references. Well then let this be your guide.If you like fast-paced, clubby synthpop that keep things melodic and doesn't get too industrial nor too electroclash then CTN will be a perfect fit. The beats were solid, the electronics top-notch and the vocals were pretty much standard fare for German new wave groups... you know swinging between cold and distant to overly melodramatic... in other words, the good stuff. Almost every song has an addictive chorus and racing rhythm."Unattainable Love" and "Maybe Tomorrow" may wallow in the self-pity of lost love but they're catchy as can be. The latter features lilting, haunting female vocals through the refrain. "Ordinary Town" tells the tale of a young woman trapped in a small dead-end town looking for escape in a doomed relationship - it's the synthpop version of Morrissey's "Everyday Is Like Sunday". "She's a Secretary" tells the story of a woman who always finds 'a way' (wink) to get what she wants - again with the hypnotic female vox through the chorus... man, these guys were catchy, "Call me up and I will see, oh yeah if you've got money it's good for me." Another club smash was "Will You Be There?", fast and danceable as the rest with equally zippy lyrics.Oh to heck with this. I'm firing up the MP3 player and dancing around the room like a gay Bavarian. Have fun!"

Classic club music

elstrom | New Canaan, CT United States | 03/13/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Great testimony to the late 80's club scene and electronic music that came out of Europe during that period. Catchy pop tunes and sentimental, brooding ballads of self pity make this a must for any collection representing this genre. Why it is out of print, I'll never know!! Pick it up on this site!"

Best synth-pop album of 1989

elstrom | 03/20/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Well, Celebrate the Nun went on to become Scooter... and it's hard to imagine why such a brilliant group with the great "Fairlight" sound would stoop so low as to become a happy hardcore rave band. Anyway, this and Red Flag's Naive Art were in constant rotation in my CD play throughout the years 1989 and 1990. They are still in there today, nearly 15 years later. You must get ahold of this album now, if you can find it!"