MELNYK SILENCE ALBUM GAYMONKEY RELEASE: NOVEMBER 14, 2005 REVIEW: NOVEMBER 12, 2005

Melnyk is originally Canadian, but it appears his heart lives in London. His music lives somewhere else. Teaming together with Swedish label mate Sara Berg (who also takes vocal lead on some of the tracks) to found Gaymonkey Records, Melnyk has enjoyed some success with his first three single releases (all of which are featured on this album). Electro seems to be the flavour of the day, although some tracks head into slightly darker territory.

Mostly this is a nicely produced and melodic electro album, with a number of tracks equally at home on selected dancefloors, as well as on the home stereo. The tracks that really hit the spot incorporate Sara Berg’s amazing, smoky voice; especially ”Sound of Falling”; where her strong vocals are nicely encapsulated within an interestingly built rhythm.

There is no faulting the production on this album, especially on tracks like ”Fabulous”; the sounds being very clean and clear, nicely layered, with a variety of new and classic electro sounds chosen.

Unfortunately, I thought the album started to tail off a bit towards the end – the last two tracks ”Rush Common” and ”People Like You” both starting nicely, but didn’t quite manage to reach the standards set earlier in the album. Even so the quality overall is pleasingly high, making for a nice listening experience.

All in all a decent enough collection of tracks with a lot of pluses in terms of the production, Sara Berg’s excellent voice and some nicely carved out melodies. "Not just for the dancefloor" was the intention, and I think it achieved its aim – it does make a rewarding home listener.

MIKE WHYTE