ASTREA REDUX LANGUAGE ALBUM METAWAVEPOP RELEASE: FEBRUARY, 2002 REVIEW: APRIL 15, 2002

"Language" takes me back to the good old eighties and bands with clearly outspoken images. Astrea Redux resembles Ultravox, Japan and John Foxx in the way they build their songs, but are even more introverted. The content on this collection, a small one of nine tracks but still, consists of old songs in new versions or previously unreleased versions of earlier tracks. The title track is the true gem, with massive synth walls and pompous moods accompanied by, well, synth sounding vocals. It turns out beautifully, anyway. They use different vocalists on different songs, but Astrea Redux should really focus on the one who does it well. The other one, frankly, sounds utterly uninspired.
"Language", the song, in two ear pleasing versions plus the equally grand "Secret Voice" and a few other treasures make for a highly interesting mesh of avantgardistic electronics and classically orchestrated pieces. Astrea Redux, at their best, make me proud of my Ultravox collection.

NIKLAS FORSBERG