DK7

A full album of music by wunderkind Swedish electro/techno producer Jesper Dahlback is certainly an exciting prospect. Dahlback’s remixes have transformed their original tracks into dance floor masterpieces, and lately he is the producer with the Midas touch, earning accolades from around the global dance community. Given the opportunity to unleash his slick electronic style on tracks that are purely his own should guarantee any such material would be an essential collection. However, that dream falls short thanks to the addition of co-producer and vocalist Mark O’Sullivan. Working together as DK7, Dahlback and O’Sullivan have attempted to make a techno-pop album, which strays from the very thing that makes their work so outstanding: the crisp beats and the devastating synth lines. These things are present on Disarmed, but any momentum is lost thanks to the vocals of O’Sullivan, not to mention his amateurish lyrics. Even worse is the addition of heavy guitars on some tracks, pushing what could have been an excellent and current tech-house/electro album into EBM or even Euro-goth territory. Sure, the backing tracks are hot as hell, particularly on "Where’s The Fun,” "Life Is Everywhere” and "Sleeping Bag.” Their cool 2003 acid-tinged single "The Difference” is fortunately included here as well, but it’s not enough to justify the whole package, which is a shame.