Fight The Saucermen Goteki (Wasp Factory)

I am a fan of people in bands who adopt made-up names, writes Stuart Moses.

It suggests some thought has gone into the concept behind the music.

But does the music of the amusingly-titled Dr A, Sneaky and Crash 303 match up to their imaginations?

Opening song, Futurist, sounds as if it could be used to give your speakers a clear out.

Fight The Saucermen could have been the music for an early 80s home- computer game, updated for 2001.

It has the same insistent, repetitive nature which may be annoying or catchy depending on your mood.

Sneaky's voice is far better than many of those useless growls that inhabit electronic music, suggesting what Marc Almond would sound like if he had spent the early 80s playing on his ZX Spectrum rather than skulking around Soho.

We Can Rebuild You would sound better in a club than at home, where its incessant rhythm would have more sway.

The electronic noodlings of Signal Zero sound more b-side material. It's not particularly pleasant to listen to, you can't dance to it, but it is at least mercifully short. Then we get another remix of We Can Rebuild You, and two more versions of Fight The Saucermen.

Finally, Extension is quite beautiful in places and hints at what Goteki might achieve in the future.

December 5, 2001 17:00