Mechanical Moth- Rebirth

ARTIST: Mechanical Moth

ALBUM: Rebirth

LABEL: Scanner

REVIEWER: Matthew J.

DATE: 6-2-10

German darkwave act Mechanical Moth return with a new album and a new female lead singer, Ivy. At her best, Ivy's comparable to a more gothic version of Annie Lennox, dark but throaty and soulful, her voice all but overwhelming the club-oriented electronics and sampled laughter of opening track "Dance Revolution" and slower but flawlessly produced "Zealot." She's also wonderful at toning things down a bit and pulling back on the sensuality, as on this album's more ethereal offerings. On the German-language "Feelenzauber," she's angelic instead of sexy, her voice layered over crystalline pianos, and on "Crimson Theme," she's like a futuristic yet baroque version of Evanescene's Amy Lee, her voice soaring over staccato synth-strings and a harpsichord phrase that riffs on the "Carol of the Bells." Unfortunately, it's not all angels and electronic chamber music; two of the album's most memorable offerings are also its most cringe-inducing. "MDK" is a hard rock number pairing epic guitar riffs with thumping dance beats and sarcastic, puerile lyrics about violence; the snotty vocal delivery just emphasizes the song's weaknesses. Similarly, "Black Queen Style" shoots for the sadomasochistic darkwave mystique perfected by projects like Spanking Machine and Die Form but just comes off as a shallow take on a subject already done to death by better artists. Two bombs like that aren't enough to completely ruin the album, thankfully, but they keep it from being the masterpiece it could have been. Still, diehard fans of European darkwave in the vein of Diary of Dreams or early Lacrimosa will find plenty of worthwhile listening, and the inclusion of bonus MP3 tracks remixed by the likes of Acylum and FabrikC ensure that there's no shortage of interesting content.

Visit the band online at at www.mechanicalmoth.de