Project Alphastyle- Bright Eyes

It's a good thing this CD from Project Alphastyle is as short as it is; their energetic techno pop is so sugary that any more than these five brief songs would give nearly anyone a toothache, if not diabetes. Project Alphastyle are unabashedly perky, with high-BPM house beats, sweetly upbeat pianos, cloying synthesized bells, and vocals pitch-shifted upwards for that "Alvin and the Chipmunks" European house music feel. It's quite a change from the moping New Order imitations of the synthpop scene, but despite the utter cheesiness of songs like "Only You" or the appropriately titled "Sweet," there's something infectious about them as well, and title track "Bright Eyes" pulls off a real sense of romance in its own wistful, lighthearted way. If you're looking for something brooding in the vein of Depeche Mode, you might as well keep looking, but if the joyously campy and energetic flavor of Erasure is more your speed, you'd do well to check out Project Alphastyle.

Visit the group online at www.project-alphastyle.de.