TRACK REVIEWS

The Mystic Underground
Madeleine

Posted: Friday, June 22, 2007
By: Ilker Yücel
Editor

New York's The Mystic Underground are certainly working hard to make a name for themselves in the synthpop market on par with their European counterparts. Their debut album, The Nameless and the Faceless was chockfull of catchy '80s-style synthpop with enough of a modern club feel to appeal to today's audiences, with their follow-up EP, Under the Clearest Moon, following suit. Now, as if they needed to prove the point further, they've released this two-track digital single, with "Madeleine" full of Vladimir Valette's passionate vocals and Benedetto Socci's scorching synths. The beat is a rather conservative club beat, slowed to such a pace to instill images of goth couples doing some form of twisted Tango, while the lush atmospheres are complemented by some nice piano accompaniment. Actually, if this writer may indulge in a bit of nostalgia, the song is somewhat reminiscent of Taco's "Puttin' on the Ritz," while the high note Vladimir hits in the song's climax will surely remind listeners of George Michael's vocals in Wham!. Included on the single is the Dancing Queen remix, but don't let the name fool you; this ain't Abba. Rather, the remix transforms the original song's melancholy into an infectious club track that would surely be a hit on the dance floor, though it also shows the duo's ability to balance emotion with danceable hooks, as any good synthpop group should do. If nothing else, "Madeleine" is a good teaser for the group's sophomore album.