Louis Guidone- I Go On with My Life

ARTIST: Louis Guidone

ALBUM: I Go On With My Life

LABEL: Unsigned

REVIEWER: Matthew J.

DATE: 4-7-10

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Prolific solo artist Louis Guidone blends numerous influences from the early days of the dark music scene. With a mostly electronic flavor, much of his stuff falls somewhere on the spectrum between synthpop and EBM; on the one hand, there's the moody darkwave-tinged "Silver Lining" with its synthesized choir effects, while on the other we have the slow but gritty march of "Stop Stalking Me" and the crunchy aggression of "Uber Cyber Total Bullshit." And while keyboards and sequences are the main weapons in Guidone's arsenal, he's clearly not afraid to bust out the occasional guitar jam; "Don't Fret" sees him layering some old-school gothic rock riffs over an equally old-school drum machine sequence, "Success Is the Best Revenge" throws down jittery New Wave guitars over a classic EBM bass line, and "I Never Knew" surprises with acoustic guitars. Recently reissued on CD, this is actually Guidone's first album, and it does show, unfortunately; while his eclecticism is to be admired, his production doesn't quite hold up, especially in comparison to some of his later work, and the rawness of tracks like "So-Called Friends" might be a turn-off to listeners used to more polished material. Still, if it's something of a diamond in the rough, there's something quite appealing here, and the jagged edges are bound to please fans of the electronic and industrial scene's early days, when samples were still made by cutting tape and the vagaries of analog synthesizers made everything sound unpredictable. Given Guidone's numerous covers of bands like Depeche Mode and Kraftwerk, it's a safe bet that he's more interested in electronic experimentation than radio-friendly perfection anyway.

For more information about Louis Guidone's work, visit www.louisguidone.com.