This is the debut album from the English electro act Mechanical Cabaret. They mix harsh electro sounds with some softer touches drawn from synth pop. Besides that the songs on this album display a wide variety of other influences without being eclectic or incoherent. Much of this coherence is due to the production, which creates an overall lo-fi feeling, mainly because analogue tapes were used.
Mechanical Cabaret’s music has hints of Fad Gadget and Soft Cell to it. Besides the synth pop influences it is the voice of singer Roi that makes for the Soft Cell comparison. It is really amazing how much his voice is at times like that of Marc Almond. Also the glamour side of Soft Cell is evident. Songs like Nothing Special and Meat Closet are electronic pieces of glam punk. Also the contents of the lyrics display a punk attitude at times, as in the anti-fascist song Mein Führer.
In other songs like Violated and When We Go, We Go Together the pop sentiment is more evident. Besides that Mechanical Cabaret proves with a song like Sterilized that they are also capable of producing a piece of modern cybergothic/trance music.
Overall this is very danceable debut album. It would certainly please retro 80’s fans but also the contemporary synth pop / electro audience. Together with Ladytron’s 604 the best 80’s inspired album I have heard so far…
