Is electro still fresh? Not really, to be honest. The genre’s big renaissance from 2018 and 2019 has noticeably subsided. This could be because other forms of electronic music, either more extreme, more emotional or more suitable for the masses, have become more popular since the pandemic. And, let’s face it, this music is stagnating and, with all its retro-futuristic patina, seems more dusty than ever. But those who look for hope will find it.
Indeed, they will find it with Luke Eargoggle and Dataintrång, who have produced a simply interstellar three-track EP for Helena Hauff’s Return To Disorder. The opener and title track, »Top Of The Pyramid«, is a prime candidate for a true »banger«. The redundant list of colours provides just the right amount of hypnotic pull, and the beat, with its plastic hi-hats, growls and rattles more menacingly and therefore more convincingly than anything that has been syncopated in electro rhythm in recent years. Perhaps this is where the secret lies. This is a track that rushes forward in four-to-the-floor mode. But beware, spoiler alert: even the perhaps self-deprecatingly titled »Not Unique« stands out from the crowd with its classic electro trot, reminiscent of the pioneering sound of the eighties, while at the same time cutting its own path through the ice with its synths. »7 Days A Week« brings out the acid-industrial whip for the finale and manages to walk the tightrope between dadaist lyrics and musical total confrontation.
