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Glitter and Sweatervests (The Birth of a Riot)
Athletes
Song for the Brokenhearted
Death of a Soccer Mom
Delusional
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The Mystic Underground
Under the Clearest Moon
Posted: Wednesday, November 08, 2006
By: Erica Anderson
By: Erica Anderson
As a precursor to their sophomore album, The Mystic Underground put out a five-track EP, a faithful homage to the new wave era of the '80s.
Synthpop and humor are rarely tantamount with one another. The lyrics in most synthpop music are often romantic or depressing. It is uncommon that humor is injected into the music. This is not the case with The Mystic Underground, who hardly take themselves or life so seriously. Their tongue-in-cheek humor really shines through on Under the Clearest Moon, a five-song EP filled with harmonious pop melodies set to slick electronic dance beats and crisp synthesizers that can easily be compared with the perky sounds of Erasure and early Depeche Mode. What stood out the most on the 26-minute-long EP is the striking similarities between Vladimir Valette and Erasure's Andy Bell. Their vocals are uncannily alike throughout the EP.
"Glitter and Sweatervests (The Birth of a Riot)" kick starts Under the Clearest Moon with throbbing dance beats, with a bit of an electroclash flavor. "Athletes" is easily the strongest song on the CD. The song is a good old-fashioned upbeat synthpop track with crisp synthesized beats and sugary pop hooks. The Andy Bell comparison really shines through on this particular track, though the songs are a far cry from the romantic styling of Erasure. "Song for the Brokenhearted" is another strong synthpop track. The somber lyrics are definitely something that Andy Bell and Vince Clarke would have written. The addition of the organ towards the end of the song surprisingly works. The ballad "Death of a Soccer Mom" is the perfect example of the duo's cheeky sense of humor. The morbid lyrics talk about the death of your all American housewife/soccer mom when her car hits a tractor trailer. Unfortunately, on a CD that consists mostly of up-tempo dance songs, "Death of a Soccer Mom" sounds out of place, both musically and lyrically. The closing song, "Deusional" has a more rock-based sound and is the least polished of all the five songs. Personally, this harder edged song would have sounded better as the opening track as opposed to being the closer.
The Mystic Underground is proof that America can put out solid synthpop music just as well as their European counterparts. Their music is undoubtedly melodic and danceable. Under the Clearest Moon sounded like a faithful homage to one of the most recognizable names in synthpop music, Erasure... that, or a blatant rip off, depending on a person’s point of view. The Erasure comparison is also the group's biggest weakness as The Mystic Underground really needs to develop their own distinct sound. None of the songs on the EP really showcased anything original. Hopefully, when the band releases their next full-length album, they will branch out musically and show an array of diverse musical sounds.
"Glitter and Sweatervests (The Birth of a Riot)" kick starts Under the Clearest Moon with throbbing dance beats, with a bit of an electroclash flavor. "Athletes" is easily the strongest song on the CD. The song is a good old-fashioned upbeat synthpop track with crisp synthesized beats and sugary pop hooks. The Andy Bell comparison really shines through on this particular track, though the songs are a far cry from the romantic styling of Erasure. "Song for the Brokenhearted" is another strong synthpop track. The somber lyrics are definitely something that Andy Bell and Vince Clarke would have written. The addition of the organ towards the end of the song surprisingly works. The ballad "Death of a Soccer Mom" is the perfect example of the duo's cheeky sense of humor. The morbid lyrics talk about the death of your all American housewife/soccer mom when her car hits a tractor trailer. Unfortunately, on a CD that consists mostly of up-tempo dance songs, "Death of a Soccer Mom" sounds out of place, both musically and lyrically. The closing song, "Deusional" has a more rock-based sound and is the least polished of all the five songs. Personally, this harder edged song would have sounded better as the opening track as opposed to being the closer.
The Mystic Underground is proof that America can put out solid synthpop music just as well as their European counterparts. Their music is undoubtedly melodic and danceable. Under the Clearest Moon sounded like a faithful homage to one of the most recognizable names in synthpop music, Erasure... that, or a blatant rip off, depending on a person’s point of view. The Erasure comparison is also the group's biggest weakness as The Mystic Underground really needs to develop their own distinct sound. None of the songs on the EP really showcased anything original. Hopefully, when the band releases their next full-length album, they will branch out musically and show an array of diverse musical sounds.
