Exileinside -‘Ei060’ (Exilophone) Released 10/10/05

 

 

Jake and his angelic friends have produced an album of well-orchestrated electro-rock that moves rapidly and without warning from the brooding and expansive likes of ‘I Want You’ with crashing guitars to the new-wave pop like ‘The Waiting Room’, filled with lyrics of desperation and desire: "Blindly confined to a world you control/your alive in my thoughts, I’m dead on my own". All the songs seemingly about that mystery girl/s of constant musical inspiration.

 

The sounds of the 1980's run through this album like a brush through a well-kept mullet, but at least it’s the good side off the 80s ‘Lamf’ is a little New Order and going a bit further back ‘Opaque’ sounds a lot like ‘Atmosphere’ by Joy Division and you can hear a little Depeche Mode and maybe even a little Mike Oldfield thrown in there too. It's retro without a doubt but still manages to sound pretty fresh - single ‘Breathe In/Breathe Out’, for example, is a decent slice of pop. Unfortunately though, despite the quality and craftsmanship in the orchestration, it contains little to get excited about.