Free-Music Review — 4th July, 1999

"A Time Long Forgotten"

Ghost In The Machine

Category: electronic : trance

My rating: 3 out of 4

Starts off as another Robert Miles nightmare and then gets a little funkier, then a lot funkier. Lots of piano and synth and a beat that builds up to more than a brain-bleedingly crap standard-issue house-music beat even if it isn't stunningly innovative.


"Want Me"

Red Delicious

Category: alternative : alternative general

My rating: 4 out of 4

In some ways this is just a pop track: pop beat, off-the-shelf bass guitar line, 1980s electronic sounds. But in other ways it's more than that: an alternative sound born of the maelstrom of pouting noise that the vocal line wears around it, lyrics too depressed but defiant to be ignored, and an attitude that you don't get from modern pop hits. I actually found this track insistently playing itself in my mind after I'd stopped playing it.


"Atomic Dance Explosion"

t r a n c e [] c o n t r o l

Category: electronic : techno

My rating: 3 out of 4

Nothing original here but, seeing as 90% of the dance music industry is based on ripping off top-selling tracks, I guess that doesn't matter to most people. Besides, this is a pretty dancy track that keeps the mind busy.


"Zone Of Consciousness"

Ghost In The Machine

Category: electronic : environmental soundscapes

My rating: 3 out of 4

A nice bit of mind-expansive sound. Not exactly dancy, nor trance. And doesn't really describe any environment for me. But it's fairly original-sounding, plenty moody, and it's good to listen to.


"Mother may I"

Streaming Geeks

Category: alternative : alternative general

My rating: 4 out of 4

This is the second Streaming Geeks I've listened to and the first time I heard this I though: ah, damnit - another 80s pop horror. But that was an unfair evaluation and very soon this track had sunk hooks into my mind's flesh and got me loving it. This is a truly alternative track with lyrics that inspire all the joy of a corpse and a guitar line to scream along with in pain. A great track so long as you're not one of those people that says things like: "Oh, I don't like that Radiohead song... it's so depressing."


"I Will Love You"

Fisher

Category: pop / rock : pop

My rating: 4 out of 4

A beautiful voice, sweet lyrics and a soft piano melody. A simple, clean sound that doesn't deserve to be dumped in the category "pop" with all the tacky shite that qualifies as music these days. This is a very nice vocal track and I'm not surprised to see that Fisher has already been a commercial success.