BACKLASH
EP1
EP TELEGRAM RELEASE: AUTUMN, 1999 REVIEW: DECEMBER 2, 1999


This is refreshing. An EP, a format I’m very fond of. Newly formed Swedish duo Backlash have settled with a four track debut release, and it’s an impressive start. You get an idea of their sound and they leave you wanting more. A full album would probably have some sore bits. Now you’re overwhelmed by a quartet of interesting hybrids.
Mostly, Oskar Lygner and Niklas Lundqvist make music resembling instrumental synth/EBM/techno with a twist. They’ve succeeded in creating something which at times is very close to a vocal-less version of Covenant with a substantially more varied set of sounds. The two first tracks, "Make-believe" and "T-junction" are the fast ones, while the other two are more relaxed, but not one bit less intriguing. Fragmentary vocoder vocals can be heard, but it’s the thrilling music that makes "Ep1" such a nice record.
We received an advance cassette copy as far back as last winter and this CD has been heavily delayed. It’s nice that it’s finally released. Because Backlash is a band with a future. A bright one, if it was up to me.

NIKLAS FORSBERG