This Is Electroclash CD

Over the course of three discs, Hypnotic's This Is Electroclash only collects a few tracks by the genre's leading lights, such as Ladytron's "Discotraxx" and Felix da Housecat's "Happy Hour"; the rest of the set features tracks from some lesser-known purveyors of the style, some seminal '80s synth-pop, and a continuous mix by DJ skOOby. The contemporary tracks divide pretty evenly between the fey, melodic side of the style (the Faint's remix of Joy Electric's "We Are the Rock," Bis' "Don't Let the Rain Come Down," and Waldorf's "You're My Disco (New Romantic Mix)") and its occasionally sleazy, more electro-inspired side (A1 People's "Detroit Style" and Ping Pong Bitches' "Beat You Up"), though many of them simply don't have the presence of either the better-known modern tracks or the classics. The Normal's "Warm Leatherette," Fad Gadget's "Lady Shave," Visage's "Fade to Grey," Berlin's "Sex," and Gary Numan's "My Dying Machine" are, in many cases, still more experimental and more accessible than the newer acts featured on This Is Electroclash; it certainly seems like a "Roots of Electroclash" collection featuring these artists (as well as more purely electro innovators like Afrika Bambaataa) is overdue. On this album, though, the older tracks end up both padding out the collection and overshadowing the tracks they were meant to compliment. This Is Electroclash is fairly entertaining, but better collections of the old and new artists featured on it are available elsewhere. ~ Heather Phares

Though the Cleopatra subsidiary Hypnotic rarely does any favors to the styles it attempts to define, This Is Electroclash is a surprisingly clever three-disc set (the third is a mix of the previous material by DJ SkOOby). Each of the first two leads off with a track by an electroclash favorite (Ladytron and Felix Da Housecat), though neither are particularly good selections, and none of the other artists roped into the scene appear here. Instead, the compilers licensed a raft of synth-pop tracks from the '80s, balanced with more recent electro-techno from a few second-rank producers. The older tracks are mostly watershed moments: the Normal's scene-starting "Warm Leatherette," Soft Cell's "Tainted Love," Visage's "Fade to Gray," and Gary Numan's "My Dying Bride." (A few others appear in remixed form, including Berlin, Heaven 17, Information Society, Sigue Sigue Sputnik, and, bizarrely, Anita Bell) Of the newer tracks, there's a few weak points, but also some smart choices, like a remix by the Faint of Joy Electric's "We Are Rock." Not exactly scene-defining, but an interesting selection of tracks nonetheless. ~ John Bush

Audio Remixers: Tok Tok; Soffy O; Massimo Carpani; Judson Leach; Julian Beeston ; Porl King; Bis.

Recording information: Blackwing Studios London; Kitchen Studios; Studio 2 EMI, Paris, France; Ti-Boo Studios London.

Personnel: D, Jon Sonnenberg, Kraftwelt (programming).

Audio Mixers: D; Michael Zimmering.