Various Artists
Monika Force
/monika; 2005/







more info:
www.monika-enterprise.de

My friend Grib is not a reliable reviewer. she still has to review that new Styrofoam record as well as that cool Michaela Melian cd. She would have loved this compilation. That will teach her.

This compilation is German synthpop label Monika Enterprises' 40th release, and it features impressive tracks, mostly rare cuts from out of print 7" and 12", cool remixes and more conventional album cuts. Mostly girls, i mean, women, singing gorgeous pop pieces with light computerized arrangements. Some are Nico sounda likes, some are, well, men sounding like Markus Acher, some do not sing, some are a bit nastier and it all flows together perfectly.

I really like the Contriva song, Cobra Killer's "LA Shaker," the DNTEL remix of Barbara Morgenstern's "Aus Heiterem Himmel," Manuela Krause impresses as well but one band stands out on this compilation : Figurine sound like Lali Puna without the stupid politics and numb delivery, an impressive pop act focused on writing great songs.

Monika Force is a great synthpop compilation, even better than the much talked about Slowdive tribute released by Morr. It works brilliantly as an overview and an introduction to Monika and German electropop as well as a fan's favourite, as some of the songs or remixes hadn't been available for quite a while.

-Barbara H

/jan 15th 2004/