Review: XMH – 'The Blind'

XMH
'The Blind'
ALFA MATRIX

XMH's second single from their most recent outing 'In Your Face' sees the band at their club-friendly best. With a heavy dose of dark electro present throughout the album, the band's trademark aggrotech is toned down a bit, and 'The Blind' is a particularly good example of this formula at work. It is hard and fast but at the same time is has some very lush and sensual layers at play within it.

The tracks lead piano is a simple but very catchy device that when coupled with the relentless dance beats becomes an irresistible call to the dance floor. It's only downside is that some of the vocals don't seem to sit quite right in the mix which kind of dulls its edge, but it is nevertheless a damn addictive song.

The remixes courtesy of Avarice In Audio, Implant, and The Last Dance up its club appeal even more with their own take on the big dance sound for some extra appeal for the DJs out there. The scathing synths of Avarice In Audio and the darkwave guitars of The Last Dance in particular bring a lot of different elements out of the original track.

The only other original song on the EP, 'The Ticking Clock', shows XMH at their most sombre and agonising with its slow intro giving way to a steady dance beat, and more reserved vocal performance to play up the dark electro side of the band's sound even more.

This is a good EP for those who haven't dived into the album yet. The title track is a great dance orientated piece that is complimented by three very strong remixes. While the exclusive track at the end provides a peak at the band's darker and more sombre leanings. This is certainly going to earn the Dutch trio a lot of club play around the globe.  

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Review: XMH – 'In Your Face'

XMH
'In Your Face'
ALFA MATRIX

Taking a step back from their tried and tested aggrotech, Dutch trio XMH explore their dark electro, futurepop, ebm and psy-trance leanings in more detail on their fourth album 'In Your Face'. It's dance-friendly and melodic, but still maintains that signature high-energy intensity the band are known for.

Hard beats, throbbing bass, searingly infectious leads and an overt hardstyle leaning, and pop sensibility on tracks such as 'Product', 'Forever', 'System Collapse' and 'Stiere Und Schwule' in particular show off the band's prowess in crafting memorable club hits. While the likes of 'Failing Technology' and 'The One That Ends It All' with their darker and more down-tempo approach add real depth of character to the album drawing on a real knack for cinematic leads and imposing atmospheres over pure dance appeal. It would be nice to hear the band explore this further on future releases to balance out their sound.

In terms of production, 'In Your Face' sounds the most polished XMH have ever been. The mixing is spot on to really play to all the different elements of the band's sound. It just sounds very clean and futuristic. The only one criticism is that occasionally the vocals don't hit the ear right, for instance the repetition effect on 'The Business' seems unnecessary, and on 'Snakes' the vocals get swamped by the rest of the mix easily. However with such song tracks, as those already mentioned, these are small sticking points.

'In Your Face' is a strong album that is sure to bring the Dutch trio a lot of club play around the globe. It's an album that seems very at home with the Alfa Matrix brand attached to it, and certainly the band have embraced the new association. Hopefully it will be a partnership that will continue to see XMH flourish as a band.

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