32Crash- Weird News from an Uncertain Future

ARTIST: 32Crash
ALBUM: Weird News from an Uncertain Future
LABEL: Alfa Matrix
REVIEWER: Matthew J.
DATE: 3-9-08

A collaborative side project of Front 242's Jean-Luc De Meyer and Implant's Len Lemeire and Jan D'Hooghe, 32Crash brings a new kind of science fiction perspective to EBM. Sure, plenty of bands in the dark electronics scene have explored science fiction themes, but it's usually from a cyberpunk or post-apocalyptic setting, with lots of allusions to Blade Runner and the Terminator films(or in more recent times, the Matrix trilogy). 32Crash's take on things is gloriously retro space opera, with alien invasions of earth, inter-dimensional portals, and a giant super-weapon called "Merlin's Gun," explained in the song of the same name, that can destroy entire planets by firing black holes at them. Though the glitch-infused staccato electronics of "Dust and Drought" and the driving EBM stomp of "Fast Crash" keep things grounded in contemporary production techniques, much of this album has a delightfully retro flare that works perfectly with its epic narrative. "Propaganda" is old-fashioned martial EBM at its best, and with De Meyer on vocals, it could almost be a lost Front 242 track from the early '80s. "Liquid Ice" combines an almost wistful-sounding delivery of apocalyptic lyrics with industrial dance beats, and "Beware!" adds a simple analog bass line to funky electro breaks. With so many EBM and industrial acts focused on grim, unrelenting realism, it's nice to see something so over the top for once. It's a lot more escapist than most of what's going on in the scene right now, but 32Crash will have fans of classic EBM, not to mention classic space opera, grinning from ear to ear.

Bring your spaceship in for a crash landing at www.32crash.com.