Artist: Mechanical Cabaret
Title: Selective Hearing
Genre: Alternative Electro-Pop
Release Date: 26th February 2013
Label: WT11 Records
Review Flash
London based MECHANICAL CABARET have been treading the boards since 1999, and have supported everyone from FAD GADGET and COVENANT to VNV NATION as well as headlining a number of shows around the UK and into Europe. This release is essentially a ‘Best Of’ and showcases their peculiar and quirky brand of electronic and industrial pop. Sometimes harsh as on ‘Cheap And Nasty’, dark and smouldering on ‘Careful Careless’ or infectiously danceable on ‘In Loving Memory’, this is an eclectic mix and generally successful. The endless remixes feel superfluous, and the tendency to sound like SOFT CELL grates at times, but there are enough ideas here to keep everything afloat.
Conclusion: A good career retrospective, solid enough dance-floor filler and darkly knowing lyrics, left-field enough to appeal across the alternative spectrum.
Rating: 8 / 10
