ASSEMBLAGE 23 META ALBUM ACCESSION RELEASE: APRIL 20, 2007 REVIEW: MAY 28, 2007

Once again dragging a parade of highly competent electronic dance bombs, Tom Shear has a few surprises up his black sleeve this time. Some minor alterations that help pushing the end result a notch further than might have been expected. Essentially, "Meta" is still an ensemble of what Shear does best: clever, melodic electropop. But he has reformatted his slightly overused futurepop beat.

A few songs are pure synthpop, like the bouncy "Sorry", complete with a gorgeous synth solo half way through. Other tracks, like the dirty sounding "Raw", rely more on aggression and EBM, but they all have one thing in common. The instant chorus power. Assemblage 23 may sound similar over time, but the project have churned out hits like few other in contemporary electro. Just listen to "Decades", "Binary" and "Madman's Dream"! They are definitely among the best Shear has ever recorded.

Preserving his rather limited vocal approach is cause for concern (he can hit higher notes as proven in "Madman's Dream"), but the vitality and force of the songs make "Meta" one of the best Assemblage 23 discs.

NIKLAS FORSBERG

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