Front 242

To all you diehard 242 fans, stop reading now, throw on your favourite of their albums and boogie your night away. For the rest of you who appreciate honesty, I never thought I’d say this, but boy does this 242 record suck. Maybe it’s the fact that we’ve waited, what, about ten years for new material? — and this is the best they could come up with, but they just seem to have lost their knack for making catchy electronic/industrial/EBM. The very term "Electronic Body Music” itself was coined after their music for cripes’ sake, and the four new songs offered here don’t even make you want to get off the couch never mind the dance floor. Not to say that the only good electronic music is that which makes you want to boogie, but this stuff is boring. It seems that where they’ve been for the past decade is vacationing in Dullsville. The songs all plod along at the same medium pace, the sequencing is mediocre and there isn’t an upbeat moment to be heard. The future pop ballad isn’t something we love about and expect from them. If this is their new angle, then it sure ain’t a sharp one. My advice, since they asked, is leave that to the likes of Covenant, get back in the studio and write us another Headhunter. As a long-time fan it pains me to say this, but the energy and infectiousness of their older material just isn’t here. This is just the EP. Let’s hope they’re just holding out for the upcoming full-length.