E:Gum

Glitchy beats à la Rephlex records and poppy vocals — that’s what we’ve got here, courtesy of Berlin-based Klein Records. In general, the electronic backing tracks are strong, but often the female vocals sound like they’re not really getting lost in the music. On "Shake It” the somewhat laconic style works, and "Menzies Hill” is definitely worth checking out. On the other hand, on opening track "Stop 2,” it just doesn’t sound like she’s really into it. Weak lyrics cause "System Crash Reporter” — sung by male vocalist Hans Platzgumer — to be eminently skipped but then on "Vivid” all the Aphex Twin noises come out to play and his vocal doesn’t get in the way of it being a solid track. The inconsistency is a shame, though, as the instrumental side is strong throughout, from the more dance floor techno feel of "Chainsaw” to the very Bows-like feel of "I Belong.” If the occasional weak lyrics aren’t a deal-killer, this is worth checking out for the instrumental side alone.