I, SYNTHESIST AVALANCHE ALBUM SUBSPACE COMMUNICATIONS, PLAYGROUND RELEASE: NOVEMBER 1, 2004 REVIEW: NOVEMBER 11 2004

I, Synthesist can be counted among the righteous, the torchbearers of artistically ambitious synthpop of this age like French Mortem Vlade Art and the sadly discontinued American band Cosmicity. I grew up listening to Swedish synthpop like Elegant Machinery and Mobile Homes in the nineties, at which time the aforementioned countries weren’t even on the map as far as I was concerned. Today the situation is completely reversed, and the Swedish bands have a lot to learn from these recent releases. Dynamic, heartfelt and inventive, this is music that stands, or at least should be able to stand, on its own even outside its little cozy subculture.
”Avalanche” is simple in style, and very funky in a happier Gary Numan kind of way. New Yorker Chris Ianuzzi hides behind the nom de plume, and if his voice is sometimes strained to hit the notes in the higher and lower register (what record labels like to call a ”personal voice”), the great melodic hooks and bubbly space sounds more than help to compensate for it. Ianuzzi is an experienced electronic musician with some instrumental soundtrack work under his belt, but pop is clearly closest to his heart and he does not let the machines steal even an ounce of pop sensibility away from the album.
Lyrics are trippy science fiction stuff about absolutely nothing, conjuring the futuristic atmosphere of the genre. This is, if you will, the audio equivalent of the good natured retro futurism of recent movies like "Steamboy" and ”Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow”. Enjoy the ride!

MATTIAS HUSS