SPC ECO 3-D ALBUM ECO LAB, NOISEPLUS RELEASE: MAY, 2009 REVIEW: JUNE 26, 2009

This is not the first time Dean Garcia and his daughter Rose Berlin have collaborated. No, an entire album under the heading of Ms. Berlin has been out for a couple of years via Garcia's site. The difference between these two recordings, however, is vast.

To begin with this new venture features some familiar names: Steve Monti on live drums and Debbie Smith on live guitars. This pair were members of Curve in their halycon days of the early 90:s. Monti also played drums for the Jesus and Mary Chain on their magnificent 1992 piece de resistance "Honey's Dead".

So with all this in mind, with so many serious players on this record nothing could go wrong, right?

Incorrect. The vocals are too spacey, too processed and above all: too indecisive. It's hard to tell what the words Rose sings even mean to her as there's no inflection and barely any sense of feeling to what her admittedly angelically engineered voice whispers out.

Musically, SPC ECO are magnificent. Utterly fearless and so hazed out you cannot tell what's live and what has been programmed. Dean Garcia once again earns his stripes as a songwriter with few equals. It's a treat to hear Debbie and Monti alongside him again after all the years apart. Some of the songs on here absolutely blow me away until the vocals come in. This could have been magnificent and one can only salivate at the thought of what Toni Halliday would have done with these incredible tracks.

PETER MARKS