Review by: Jannick Andersen // pr0fane
Website: www.sunrisesupplies.com
Label: www.dance-n-dust.com


Artist: Spectra
Title: Beyong Belief
Label: Oxygen Records
Format: CD (Jewelcase with standard 4-page inlay)
Released: November, 2005
Cover: http://clients.comandeer.com/spectra/cover1-4.jpg


Review:

With the 2 compilations \"Satellite\" and \"Parsec\", Czech-based Oxygen Records have really established themselves as one of the most promising new labels launched in 2005. A returning act on both compilations was the Portuguese duo Spectra, and their debut album \"Beyond Relief\", released on Oxygen Records, is the focus in this review. With appearances on Hadra, Ketuh and Spectral (as well as Oxygen Records of course), they are one of many new acts on the already flooded full on market - will they stand out in the crowd?


01. Intro
The album starts with a short intro. Kind of a 2? minute long industrial breaks-track - not really my kind of sound, but interesting as it\'s a bit different from the usual uninspired album-intros.

02. Audio 59 [145 BPM]
After the intro, \"Audio 59\" goes straight to the point - 145 BPM banging full on partymusic. It has a very electric sound, energetic and with some nice, bubbly reverbed synth-stabs - pretty good full on tune, even though I perhaps found it too heavy on Eskimo-like breaks and tricks towards the end.

03. Into The Monkey Planet [145 BPM]
\"Into The Monkey Planet\" is even more intense, starting in the darker territory with a loud, screaming synth (which luckily almost disappears after the first 27 seconds) and slowly getting more and more melodic, peaking with a quite standard Astrix-like breakdown. Very intense and very dancefloor-oriented morning track - pretty nice.

04. Set The Drive [145 BPM]
Up next is \"Set The Drive\", which continues the intense style, but with a slightly groovier approach on the bassline than in the first 2 dance floor tunes. Very catchy, and at first this was one of my favourite tracks on the CD, but after several listens, it did pale a bit. One of the weaker tracks.

05. Headshot [135 BPM]
\"Headshot\" is a break from the pumping full on mayhem, being a quite fine laidback progressive tune, running at 135 BPM. The sounds are quite standard full on\'ish, but slowing it down to 135 BPM result in a quite interesting but also strange tune, never really taking off. Not strong enough for me to personally use in a progressive set (although maybe as one of the opening tracks), but generally a fine track, that does supply some variation on the album.

06. Ganzales [145 BPM]
After the break, \"Ganzales\" take us back on to the main floor, and basically the formula is the same as on the previous dance floor movers - fast full on basslines, energetic leads and crowd-pleasing breaks. Apart from the quite appealing melodic breakdown after 6 minutes, this is, to me, the least interesting track on the album though.

07. One Self (with Zero Sequence) [145 BPM]
Next up is \"One Self\" - a collaboration with Zero Sequence, a relatively unknown Portuguese Duo, who appeared on Spectral records\' compilation \"The Door Of Wisdom\". The result is among the best on the CD - not as aggressive as the tracks on the first half of the CD, but more on the epic side, with mellow melodies and delicious female choir-pads. Very enjoyable.

08. Discoshit [145 BPM]
To me, \"Discoshit\" seems to have GMS written all over it, from the bassline to the melodies and trendy chord-stabs - hell, even the title could maybe be an ironic statement concerning the current state of the scientists music. Despite a lot of the elements being quite similar to the standard cookie-cutter GMS tune, it does a noticeably better job though, especially due to the lack of vocals, and keeping the cheesy hands-in-the-air melodies to a minimum. Pretty good track.

09. Beyond Belief [145 BPM]
Finishing the show is the title-track \"Beyond Belief\" which, in my opinion, also is the strongest track on the entire CD. Quite laidback despite the standard 145 BPM, with soothing synths and some very delicate grooves - in attitude it\'s sometimes even more progressive than full on, and as a final thought, I could only wish they would have explored this even more on the album. Amazing morning track.



Bottom line:

\"Beyond Belief\" is a very worthy debut. The sound is super positive and energetic, and despite the fact that the formulas, for most part, sounds like something we\'ve heard many times before, it just works. The \"Intro\" and \"Headshot\" stand out as the most musically diverse tracks on the album, while most of the remaining tracks shine as top-notch partymusic - uplifting and easily digestible, but still with more depth than most of the naively melodic standard stuff from Israel.

Don\'t expect anything truly groundbreaking, but if you\'re a DJ looking for some enjoyable partymusic, \"Beyond Belief\" is certainly among the better full on artist-albums this year.


Favourites:

2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9 (!!)


Verdict:

7/10


Link:

Oxygen Records: www.oxygenrecords.com