Eclectric is Belgian dark electro trio Psy’Aviah’s third album, and contains a blend of electronic body music and the poppier end of industrial. Is lead singer Emelie Nicolai the Lisbeth Salander of EBM? She’s certainly got the attitude, and the looks.
In a nod to the roots of this kind of sound, the band have recruited Jean-Luc De Meyer for a guest vocal on ‘Ophelie’. The Front 242 veteran brings a welcome theatricality to his performance, and this track is one of the highlights of the album. ‘Attract/Reject’s and ‘Black Hole’ are slower paced tracks which recall the Garbage of ‘#1 Crush’. ‘Rivotril Nights’ is a wonderful atmospheric track, where the beats are pulled back a little, vocals are reduced to an erotic murmur, and a 21st century metropolis is evoked in all its neon-lit splendour.
A limited edition version of this album also contains Eclectricism (try saying that after a few drinks), a bonus disc featuring some new tracks plus a brace of remixes from Sebastian Komor, Encoder et al. There’s plenty here to keep the denizens of darkwave clubs dancing.
Ewan Burke
