eezine egomania

Question of the day.

What is the point in an eezine having a 'targeted' reviews page and rejecting material submitted on the strength of a quick goosey at a website, without even hearing the music?

Sounds a bit of a closed shop to me?

Cold war europeans - Synths are the new black

They're coming thick and fast this year, not only did I bring you Pony Virus from the ever expanding Ponyland stable! but what should arrive on my door step this morning for a 'quick few words from our sponser' but the new Means of Production demo.

According to their mini biog they are influenced by Sheffield and London ... most notably Post Punk 80's elecronica in the shape of The Human League, Soft Cell and Tubeway Army, plus of course the mighty Kraftwerk Orange. With influences of this kind, especially the genius of Howard Moon and Vince Noir I had to find out what the self styled 'electro morbes' had to say for themselves.

Control of the Process-Is 'Quatermass' meets the Prodigy underpinned by a hypnotic acid groove, add to that a slither of classic Marc Almond drama by way of the hauntingly doomed lyric and you'll be someway to cerebal enlightenment. Fashion Wheel-This is my personal fave, it has a lot of 'Being boiled' about it and if that's not good enough to make you compelled to listen, then best you stick with Cold Play. Finally and in reverse order, we reach Morbid Fascination a quirky 'cyber' anthem owing much to the best bits of Heaven 17 and Gang of Four's "I Love a Man in a Uniform."

While the new breed of guitar bands hark to an era of sick, spit and sweat. MOP are more likely to be seen cruizing late at night down the 'bahn bahn bahn on the autobahn' in search of letherete and neon. Indeed if MOP were chocolate pop ... they'd definatly be Bourneville selection.

Dave T.

Is it 1990 again already? 'a marajuana swoon in club land'

Been looking for days, but no-one would hire us ... the curious clarion call of the even more curious Pony Virus.

Privilaged as I am to be aparty to the goings on at Ponyland records, I happened to come across a copy of the as yet unreleased (Marchish apparently) debut ep - 'Passing Through' by new Ponyland disciples PONY VIRUS.

The PV's are a sometimes quadruplet, sometimes trio, sometimes duo, sometimes gang, what you may call a revolving door of delights! at a whim veering from manic displaced dance onslaughts to deep laid back grooves somewhere between massive attack chill and underworld anarchy.

This their chaotic debut single Passing Through displays all of their attributes, rude, raw and out of it 'a marajuana swoon in club land'. It's a whole weekend of fun in three tracks. The title track funks with a chunk of The Mondays 'loose fit' and not a little pinch of SFA, get ready for friday night - backed by crazed narcotic fuelled mind bender 'another slice of feminine might' weighing in at a mighty 1.31 seconds! we're catapulted into a sweaty Saturday night maelstrom ... as in your face as that is, final track 'massive attack meets friday 13th' is chilled, it scratches, it grooves, it soothes like the perfect plink plink fizz of the Sunday morning come down.

In summary ... It'd be hard to find a track on this ep you couldn't either dance or get wrecked too, don't know about you, but in my book, it's gotta be worth a listen?

Dave T.