Be Strong, the debut album from The 2 Bears, is both tedious and annoying. With the exception of tracks “Time In Mind” and “Church”, my favourite songs on the album, it features little variety and regurgitates the same repetitive electro drum beat over most of the tracks. It’s a case of style over substance, and while partygoers might dig the album, I have a real problem with musicians who seem to care so little about their songs that they merely create tasteless party pop.

It is possible that I’m being too harsh. Considering I don’t listen to a great deal of electronic music, maybe I don’t get the genre. Electronic music has its place, sure. The successes of artists like Example or M83 prove that electronic music is firmly entrenched in the tastes of young people – it may be the direction that many artists are inevitably heading. And yes, I don’t mind a bit of electronic music every now and again. But Be Strong left me discontented; there wasn’t enough variation, and to me, it appeared lazy and only useful for DJs to play with at nightclubs. It was like fast food – basic ingredients that are easily consumed, taste good, but leave you unfulfilled. What are we meant to get out of this album?

It’s a shame, because I like Joe Goddard, a talented musician who is part of the electronic band Hot Chip – Hot Chip, by comparison, hit complex notes and more quirky tones, and some of their songs, such as “One By One”, are reminiscent of post OK Computer Radiohead. The upbeat and boppy indie sounds in “Time In Mind” and the soulful “Church”, both in the album’s second half, are refreshing, and prove that The 2 Bears have some potential. Electronic music doesn’t need the same drum beat and computerised tones to sound good. A wider appreciation of genre and a willingness to experiment is the key.

Luke Creely

There is more than meets the eye with French singer Emilie Simon. She isn’t one of these pretty-faced singers that just sings what ever she is given. No she is France’s answer to Australia’s Lenka. See Emilie isn’t just a singer she also composes her own electronic music which explains why her fifth album titled Franky Knight also doubles for the soundtrack of the hit French film Delicacy starring Audrey Tautou.

As it sadly turned out Simon was the perfect artist to pen the soundtrack. The film deals with the sudden loss of a woman’s husband something that Simon experienced with the sudden death of her fiancé, Francois Chevallier, and that explains the somber feel that Franky Knight’ has.

A long intro to opening track ‘Mon Chevalier’ works nicely as it cause a massive amount of anticipation that is well rewarded by the first listen to Simon’s ever so sweet voice. Being a soundtrack means that Franky Knight sees a mix of genres and that is certainly the case on ‘I Call It Love’ which sees Simon deliver a melody that would not have been lost in the 1960s.

The deep bass line of ‘Holy Pool Of Memories’ only enhances Simon’s sweet voice even further while the smooth ‘Something More’ is memorable. The piano driven ‘Bel Amour’ showcases Simon’s obvious talent while the funkier beat of ‘Frank’s Princess’ borders on some 70s disco… and it’s catchy as hell to boot.

‘Sous Les Etoiles’ sees Simon sound a lot like Camille while the short and sweet ‘Les Amants Du Meme Jour’ most likely would have been left off the album if it hadn’t been a soundtrack. ‘Walking With You’ is made a little cheesy by Simon’s vocals although the past two misses are forgotten when you hear the beautiful ‘Jetaime Jetaime Jetaime’ which is a perfect closer for the album.

Franky Knight is a smooth album that due to its circumstances takes the listener on an emotional journey. This is the sounds of France at their sweetest.

Delicacy is screening in the 2012 Alliance Francaise French Film Festival which is being held in Sydney (6-25 March), Melbourne (7-25 March), Brisbane (14 March-1 April), Canberra (14 March – 1 April), Adelaide (20 March-8 April), Perth (21 March-9 April)

Dave Griffiths

If bands such as All India Radio wet your whistle then she should be adding Beaten By Them’s new EP, People Start Listening, to the list of albums that you need to buy. This truly international group (they hail from San Francisco, New York and Melbourne) have been wowing music lovers for a while now and while their new EP is a step in a new direction it could well be their finest work to date.

It may only be a four-tracker, but at least it is four tracks of pure quilty. ‘Damp Sky 3’ is a moody piece of ambient music that even John Foxx would be proud to produce… it really is a stunning track.

Then there is ‘Rumours Of Madness’ an atomospheric and industrial sounding track that rises to such sharp points that any listener sitting too close to the speaker is guaranteed to get a little shock. You just have to love a track that has the ability to evoke an emotion like that from someone.

‘Damp Sky 4’ is a dark and sinister track with strong bass beat while ‘It Can Take You Higher’ sees the group uses their guitars more which brings a rockier sound to the track… think in mind of something that Melbourne band Laura would produce.

If you’re looking for something a little different than you can’t go wrong with People Start Listening by Beaten By Them… these talented musicians just get better and better with each album they release.

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Dave Griffiths

From the second this Sydney band’s debut album starts spinning in your CD player, you’ll find yourself drowning in a wave of synthesized symphony.

Artificial Heart is an absolutely brilliant piece of electronica and not only is the motif of the title played up to a T – the CD is labelled as an “Installing Disc”, and even the press release comes across more like a notification from the doctor’s office – but it really says something that Valley Forge was able to craft such an intriguing soundtrack straight off the bat. Things get off to an appropriate start with Power Up, which – after a cavalcade of offbeat and industrial sounds – closes on the high-pitched beeping of a heart monitor. The second track, Machine-Built Rythym, sets the tone for the majority what remains: A wondrous and entrancing fusion of digitized dialogue, synthesizers, and a hefty amount of bass.

A few pop-styled vocal offerings get thrown into the mix and even Kamahl (yes, you read correctly) makes a guest appearance on the 11th – and second-to-last – track, Wayfaring Stranger. I can honestly say that I appreciate Valley Forge’s willingness to experiment since its something that – in my experience – bands don’t do enough of.  But that said, these tracks really did throw me for a loop and it took me a moment or two to get back into the groove of things.

But the sudden tonal shifts present are in no way a bad thing, because it helps make the album unique, and its great to hear such strong and energetic efforts from Australian bands. Artificial Heart is, without a doubt, a truly transcendental trip of an album. Its off-kilter, inconsistent, and its easily one of the most structurally bizarre albums I’ve heard in a while. To be completely honest, the only other album I’ve heard I could possibly compare to this would be Daft Punk’s TRON: Legacy film score. And if that doesn’t speak of Valley Forge’s talents, I really don’t know what will.

Caley Bethune

This has to be one of the strangest releases of 2012, I say strange but well worth a listen. The Asthmatix are a Sydney-based quartet who boast that they mix hip-hop with Jewish culture, although I would argue that they are in the vein of electronica groups such as sonicanimation… a little strange but certainly worth a listen. Their latest release, the Go Team Go EP won’t be everyone…but if you’re looking for something a little different then you’ll want to give this a go.

Key track, ‘Latke’ sees The Asthmatix go for a simple electronic sound mixed with violin while the title track, ‘Go Team Go’, is simply some smooth electronica over playground noise.

‘Look Out’ is one of the highlights of the EP, its Middle Eastern sound makes it a clear standout (and a track that I had on repeat for a while) while the extremely short ‘Gaia (Live Mix)’ certainly embraces some Jewish folklore.

The Go Team Go EP is a little out there but there are some electronic fans out there that I know who will embrace it for its uniqueness.

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Dave Griffiths

Anybody that has seen the film Rabbit Proof Fence will tell you that didgeridoo player Ganga Giri is a talented musician, his work with Peter Gabriel on the soundtrack was sensational. That is why it is such a shame that he has released something like this album, Good Voodoo.

Listening to Good Voodoo makes you feel like you’ve travelled back in time to the 90s… the time of bad dance music. The title track and it’s follow-up ‘Get Started’ most likely would have dance fans of the 90s cringing as it’s Scatman-inspired rapper takes all your concentration away from Ganga Giri and his fantastic playing.

The female vocals of ‘Pacha Mama’ sound more modern, but then along come ‘Samba Reggae’, ‘Jump Up’ and ‘Don’t Follow The Guru (Remix)’ all that once again go back to that awful 90s sound… and yes the dreaded Scatman rapper raises his head again.

Ganga Giri then finally finds his groove with ‘Travelling Too’ a track that embraces Aboriginal culture and sounds amazing. ‘Byami (Our Creator)’ keeps the goodness coming and it’s catchy sounds soon becomes infectious. ‘Stand Strong’ and ‘Want To Live In Free’ bring some smoothness to the album but then unfortunately along comes ‘Gade Gade’ and ‘Dhal Dub’, again two awful songs. Luckily, however the album finishes on a good note with ‘Sacred Words’ again a worthy listen.

It’s always sad when a good artist releases a bad album and unfortunately there is very little to be said about Good Voodoo that can salvage it.

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Dave Griffiths

There are a lot of groups out there trying to mix that electronic sound with mashes of rock and punk, but by far the best Australian group doing it, are the lads from Queensland who simply go by the name Teleprompter. There self-titled debut EP shows the whole world just how good these guys really are.

The EP begins with the mellow ‘Dinobot’, that has some smooth from Mitch Exton but doesn’t really show what these guys are truly capable of doing. But then comes ‘Banshee’ a track so good that you can only really liken it to the legendary Joy Division.

The energy that comes from ‘Lung-Tied’ and ‘Lambrda’ is a real shock, and while Exton’s vocals really shine it is the punk intensity that really hits you. The remix of ‘Boxcutter’ then really shows the electronic side to Teleprompter, and by now you’ll be wanting to put this EP into your Top Ten albums of the year.

This is a stunning debut by Teleprompter and it’s scary to think how good these guys could become over the years. This self-titled EP is an amazing album that you’ll want to listen to over and over again.

Dave Griffiths

Being asked to mix a disc for Ministry Of Sound’s Sessions series of CDs is the holy grail for DJs and this time around (Sessions it is two Aussies at the helm – Tommy Trash (who also mixed a disc on Sessions 6) and Sydney-sider Sam La More.

La More kicks off Disc One with the tribal sounding ‘We Run The Night’ and seems to mash together all genres of dance music with absolute ease. Of course there are anthems from the likes of TV Rock, Dune vs Alesso, MYNC Project, Axwell, Ou Est Le Swimming Pool and PNAU but they are well mixed in with pop tracks such as ‘Who’s That Chick?’ (David Guetta feat. Rihanna) and ‘Coming Home’ (Diddy), while even classic tracks like ‘Sweet Dreams’ get worked over by artists such as Avicil. By far the standout here is Sander van Doorn feat Carol Lee with ‘Love Is Darkness’.

Tommy Trash continues with more of the same with his mix covering everything from the smooth ‘Ready 2 Go’ to club favorites like ‘Tonite’. However Trash seems to be captivated by heavy basslines (with ‘Dead Meat’ and ‘Turbulance’) and catchy tracks (like ‘Animate’, ‘Bass Down Low’, ‘Turn Up The Volume’ and ‘2.0’). Although Trash needs to be congratulated for bringing two of the best dance tracks of the year to the table – ‘Scary Monsters And Nice Sprites’ (Skrillex) and the very powerful ‘Blind Faith’ (Chase & Status) sound absolutely amazing.

Another fine Sessions CD from Ministry Of Sound, this is a great listen and a must have for dance fans.

Dave Griffiths

In the late 90’s a new style of dance music started creeping out of the clubs of South London. It’s taken a while for the strange form of electronica to take hold but now in 2011 we see it dominating the charts, so much so that Ministry Of Sound had decided to dedicate a two CD pack to it… the only problem I can see is that Israeli DJ Borgore may not have been the ideal person to mix CD 1 if Ministry Of Sound are hoping that this album may attract more people to becoming a fan of Dubstep.

Borgore’s heavy style of music certainly won’t win people over to the genre as it doesn’t showcase it in the real light. While his mixes of tracks like Document Ones’ ‘Closer’ and his own ‘Love’ work wonderfully well but tracks like ‘Ho! Riddim’ sound like you have fallen into an intergalactic war rather than listening to a CD, while ‘Brace For Impact’, ‘Sunsets’, ‘Squid Attack’ and ‘Foes’ sounds like they may have been recorded by Transformers rather than a DJ. The graphic sexual nature of ‘Afro Blue’ and ‘Spaceship’ could be really off-putting for some female listeners as well.

However it is Disc Two that saves this compilation. Mixed by the legendary Will Styles he manages to create a Dubstep disc that you feel will appeal to the masses, and win over a few new fans for the genre. Classics such as Itch-E & Scratch-E’s ‘Sweetness & Light’ sound brilliant remixed while popular tracks like The Temper Trap’s ‘Sweet Dispostion’ and Dead Prez’s ‘Bigger Than Hip Hop’ are well worth a listen. Styles certainly knows how to put together a compilation and adds variety with everything covered from the popesque ‘Animale’, old style jungle beats with ‘Badman Riddim’, reggae with ‘Slew Dem’ and anthems such as ‘Me & You’.

All up The Sounds Of Dubstep is a worthy addition to your collection but you may find yourself skipping over Disc One and giving Disc Two more of a workout.

Dave Griffiths

One of the most-anticipated dance/electronic albums of the year has finally landed. Crystal Fighters have been getting attention worldwide, due largely to their hit single “I Love London” and also because of their unique sound that sees them mix traditional folk music from the Basque region with modern dance/electronica… which surprisingly sounds brilliant, making Star Of Love one of the must haves of 2011.

The album kicks off with the tribal sounding “Solar System” and is quickly followed by the Sam Sparro-esque “Xtatic Truth” which despite the fact of having repetitive lyrics is as catchy-as-all-hell. The strange lyrical stylings of “I Do This Everyday” start off sounding really annoying but do grow on you. The vocals as so electronic that if you hate electronic music than you are best to keep well clear.

“Champion Sound” sees Crystal Fighters call on a Latin/tropical sound and that same sound continues with Plage which is catchy enough to be the next single. The choir vocals on “In The Summer” make it some brilliant sounding electronica while “At Home” is one of the sweetest songs ever recorded.

Big single “I Love London” has been heard in clubs all around the world while “Swallow” seems to mix all the sounds of the album into one track. It makes use of flamenco, hip-hop, smooth vocals, and tropical sounds with a strong electronica feel and ends up being one hell of a track.

“With You” sees Crystal Fighters sound a lot like Deep Forrest while the smooth “Follow” is well worth another listen. The special edition also features acoustic versions of “At Home”, “Plage”, “Champion Sound” and “Follow”, as well as the Spanish version “Xtatic Truth”. Each track sounds dramatically different to the original version and certainly deserves to be included on the album… they aren’t just tacked on for fun.

The unique sound of Crystal Fighters really makes “Star Of Love” the perfect album for anyone that loves their music to be a little different.

Dave Griffiths