Search - Swayzak :: Dirty Dancing

Flashback: 1982

bowery boy | seattle | 10/26/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"even the title of swayzak's third full length offering is a tongue-in-cheek reference to the 80s. this time around swayzak has almost completely abandoned thier minimalistic tech-house grooves for an disc full of electro style songs . . . yes, songs. all but three tracks are vocal driven and 'dirty dancing' comes across as a full fledged electro-pop disc. now, as a person who was a teenager during the 80s new wave movement, the recent revival of 80s electro synth-pop (miss kittin & the hacker, adult, ladytron) is cute and kitschy yet somewhat tired all at the same time. but this is swayzak we're talking about and they breathe new life into the already tired genre of electro. although it's not immediately accessible as earlier works, diehard swayzak fans will still be able to dig deep and appreciate the tightly structured, deeply rhythmic tracks offered up here.`make up your mind' opens the disc and starts off sounding like a typical swayzak vocal track: dreamy female vocals, deep dubby bass, synth effects and 4-on-the-floor beats. Then about a minute into the track it takes on a Heaven 17-ish spin and ends up sounding like an 80s new wave song. Even the lyrics ("You're going out with her tonight and that's not good."), about an open relationship gone bad, are 80s inspired.'in the car crash' is Front 242 industrial from the driving (no pun intended) percussive beats to the processed Richard 23-ish vocals and morbidly twisted lyrics. it's kind of a love song gone bad. a guy dying in a car crash thinking only of his girlfriend.'celcius', the first instrumental track, is a green album Orbital sound a-like. close your eyes and you'll be hard pressed to tell if it's Orbital or swayzak you're listening to.'i dance alone' (my personal favorite) is more industrial strength dance music. yet its hyper-drive percussion and synthesizer reminds me of the darker 80s industrial artists like Borghesia or A Split Second.'the punk era', the second instrumental track, starts off a bit cheesy until it veers off into pure late night trance with it's vocal refrain "get up" inspiring you to get up and dance.'sob 1' is the only track that's close to past swayzak. a hauntingly beautiful deep house track until four minutes in it turns into industrial trance. then clair deitrich croons in french over the beats and i swear it veers off into stereolab territory. i kid you not!'ping pong' is swayzak's kraftwerk tribute. steady 4/4 beats and kraftwerk-esque vocals saying "Ping . . . Pong". A wonderful close to a suprisingly wonderful disc.although this is a radical departure in what swayzak fans have grown to know, love and expect from this talented duo 'dirty dancing', albeit a bit commercial, is swayzak in top form. A must have for swayzak or electro loving fans."

Like a flashback into the future..

Takis Tz. | InYourHead | 11/27/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"In the European electronic/dance scene rediscovering the 80s is no longer news (you havent heard of "electroclash"? You should..)..
Swayzak tread older grounds in a very refreshing way in this album.."In the car crash" will revive the fondest memories of your 80's electrogoth days , and if you werent existent back then no worries, it will break you into a sound you'll find hard to resist.
This album is by no means a monotonous affair of retro-sounding synthies. It shifts with ease from innofensive techno to trip hop and thrusts back forward to tracks that pay hommage to Anne Clark.
Curiously enough for such an album there are no fillers. Instead, the whole thing is an honest effort to keep the music interesting and flowing. Swayzak are a proposition that will smoothly fit in an alternative club as well as a mainstream dance club. And that, i think, says it and sums it up all. Nice, very nice indeed."

Minimal tech-electro-clash-house-stuff

Gertjan Hofwegen | San Francisco, CA United States | 03/26/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Sometimes thing are hard to label, Swayzak is hard to label, it's not techno, it's certainly not house, it's not ambient, it's not electro it's whatever. It is however very minimal clear cut tech, with a hint of electro (80's) and even goth (track #3)I have to be honest, I never was a big Swayzak fan but this album it just excellent, every track is a mini electro diamond. It's excellent stuff you want to play after you got home from a night out but still have an hour of energy left.Go get it, this probably will be a classic"