AIBOFORCEN SANS PALLIATIFS ALBUM ALFA MATRIX RELEASE: NOVEMBER 9, 2001 REVIEW: DECEMBER 13, 2001

Hard danceable EBM with melodies, eh? The so-called future pop genre is growing bigger by the minute, and here is another contender for supremacy. Belgian band Aiboforcen has now delivered the final act of their trilogy of records about death. At least this is what they say in the press material, but there is not much evidence of a theme in the lyrics.
The band consists of one girl and three gents. One of them is Séba Dolimont, who keeps himself busy as editor-in-chief of Side-Line Magazine and one of the forces behind their new record company Alfa Matrix. Together they have made a pretty harsh album, and almost all the tracks are aimed towards the dance floor, which is not a bad thing. They also mix female and male vocals, often in the same track.
This is a nice change, but to be honest the vocalists sometimes leaves much to be desired. The sound itself is a bit similar to Assemblage 23 and other heavier future pop bands, but not with as catchy hooks. Actually, Aiboforcen's melodies quite often seem a bit awkward. Included on the album is also a really bad cover of The Cure's "A Strange Day", which sounds completely out of tune. Horrible indeed.
To further prove their musical heritage, there are a number of remixes included on the album by Flesh Field, Negative Format and Icon of Coil who makes a version of the hit "Twilight World" which is better than the original, partly because of the vocoder effects on the vocals.
So far it sounds like this is an quite weak album, but it has got its stronger moments, such as "Lobotomie Matricielle" a slower more experimental track with many structural changes, the moody ballad "Le Sablier" with French lyrics and "Plastic SOS" which is an almost funky tune with whispered vocals and bubbly synthesizers sizzling in the background.
To make an impression on the scene, they will have to do better than this though.

JOHAN CARLSSON