Fictional

Gerrit Thomas (Funker Vogt, Ravenous), between doing music for his own projects and remixing for everyone else, decided several years ago that he wasn’t doing quite enough and started Fictional. He recruited Jason Bainbridge on vocals, and voila — another EBM act on Metropolis Records. This album falls somewhere in the average range of future pop/EBM (electronic body music). Any one of these 14 songs would be the perfect soundtrack to a night spent stomping and bouncing on a dance floor. They’ve got all the necessities: 128 (or so) BPM, catchy synth lines and drum machine loops enough to keep those little mallets that bang the Grinch’s temples stay in your head for hours. The beats pound out steadily while minor key sequences complete the picture. While one or several of these tracks would do well on a compilation mixed up with other bands, 70 or so minutes of it all in a row is just not something I could see anyone needing in one lifetime. My issue is the repetition. You can’t lay down 14 songs that all sound the same without at least one stupid music journalist finding you out. Too much of one good thing is never a good thing, and this duo needs to figure that out. If a CD needs to be 14 songs long, then throw us a little curveball every few songs. Mix it up a bit. From the songs that are here, it appears as if all these guys know how to do is write one song, varying only the words or beat count a little. Even "Little Girl,” which deals with a wife’s drug habit and how it tears apart a marriage, is set to the same formula. Odd. "Genuine Experience,” with a slower and spookier bass line is the standout track among the bunch.