FIGURINE
The Heartfelt (March Records)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson

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The second full-lenth release from this trio is just a shade different from their debut, Transportation + Communication = Love. Yes, it's still retro, it's still built on synthesizers, and the vocals are still lovers' conversations between James and Meredith Figurine (all three adopted the name Figurine... Ramone was taken). Personally, I perceived that first album as some cool techno with new wavish pop flourishes and a lot of promise. The Heartfelt, on the other hand, comes off as a dreamy little pop album with a cool techno foundation and new wavish flourishes. Does that sound like double-talk? No, no, I swear there's a difference, and the difference is maturity in the songwriting. There's something happening here that you might want to keep an ear on. The tech aspect is surreal and compelling and the part that tickles your pop fancy is so subtle you might not even realize you're hooked until the hook's so deep you're a goner. David (um... Figurine) and James create pastiches with deep bass kicking your chest under insistent snare smacks, but they may choose to embellish these heavy sounds with a melody that sounds as if it's being played on fragile glass tubing or a toy piano. Or perhaps the foundation will be a fragile breeze and the sounds flying along above it will be more immediate and menacing. It's an album of contrasts and delights, and hopefully a bright light for more electronic musicians to row toward.

© 2001 - DJ Johnson