ELEGANT MACHINERY FEEL THE SILENCE ALBUM OUT OF LINE RELEASE: FEBRUARY 4, 2008 REVIEW: MARCH 11, 2008

Not counting the odd reunion concert in South America, Elegant Machinery were dead and buried. Persistent murmurs spoke of a musical comeback, but nothing materialised. Until now. German hot shot label Out of Line signed them to release "Feel the Silence" to a starved audience.

Simply put, Elegant Machinery remain Elegant Machinery. More modern maybe, but motored by more than one eighties oriented sound. Robert Enforsen's vocals have undergone more audio surgery in the studio and benefited greatly from it. An expected catchy chorus and strong vocals in a massively retro futuristic sound cocoon give the trio an instant edge.

The only gripe has to be the grammatical flaws in the lyrics. Should we still accept these naggingly annoying little mistakes? Lyricists that can not tell the difference between singular and plural? Luckily, this single package delivers on all other levels.

Extra track "Beautiful World" draws even more on the eighties feeling, heavily loaning from classics like Yazoo. Also upping the grade is the remix, or should I say extended version, of the title track. More remixes like this one, please. Add to that the slick video for "Feel the Silence" and the fans should be very pleased as they prepare for the new album, due in the summer.

NIKLAS FORSBERG