LUKE SLATER ALRIGHT ON TOP ALBUM MUTE, PLAYGROUND RELEASE: APRIL 8, 2002 REVIEW: APRIL 19, 2002

Mute moved Slater from the NovaMute sub label up to the parent label and I heard that great things were in the making. Indeed they were.
When someone partly from the outside throws himself into a quite worn-out genre, the result is often refreshing. Respected techno wiz Mr Slater suddenly attacks synthpop from his very own angle. And this is not only refreshing. "Alright on Top" offers some of the most vibrant and magic electrified pop tunes to hit my speakers in a long time. Even though there are weaker moments here too.
They never stop coming, those unsexy, lame and soft electropop albums. This even includes the new album from Slater's countrymen Mesh. But "Alright on Top" has that groovy retro flavoured rawness we love. Slater's experience in the world of dance music and rhythm manipulations comes in handy. And it turned out to be a really good idea to invite Ricky Barrow for the vocal duties. It's rare, to say the least, to hear a black man sing in these surroundings.
It's synthpop. But not as we know it.

MIKAEL KAHRLE