Solvent Albums (3)
'Elevators and Oscillators'
Release Date 4/5/2005
Tracks 13
Label Ghostly International
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Elevators and Oscillators is an album of halves that isn't sequenced as such. Six tracks are new, while the other seven are remixes of tracks that originally appeared on 2002's various-artists Disco Nouveau compilation and 2004's Apples + Synthesizers. The 13 tracks are arranged to make the disc sound less like the hodgepodge it is and more like a proper album, which is remarkable since the rather distinct remixes and new productions shouldn't really fit together. A couple remixes steal the show: Legowelt's look at "My Radio" (technically a cover) turns the teary-eyed electro-pop of the original into weary, dispassionate EBM à la D.A.F., and Alter Ego's remix of "Think Like Us" is irresistible electro-glam. ~ Andy Kellman, All Music Guide
'Apples + Synthesizers'
Release Date 6/29/2004
Tracks 13
Label Ghostly International
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
An early disciple of British machine techno, Solvent's Jason Amm began looking back to an earlier age of electronic music with his 2001 Morr Music title Solvent City, and he continued the thrust with this, his 2004 full-length debut for Ghostly International. In theme and execution, Apples & Synthesizers owes a heavy debt to the era of classic computer-game music that anyone with a Commodore 64 or NES lurking in their closet will immediately recognize and just as quickly appreciate. Solvent's first release on Ghostly, the electro flashback single "My Radio" (originally heard on Tangent 2002: Disco Nouveau), is here and sounds just as good as it did two years before. Unfortunately, although the rest of the record is along the same lines -- Amm sports an instrument list heavily populated with items from Korg and Roland -- none of these tracks are able to compete. "Think Like Us" and "Remote Control" plow the same ground as "My Radio" (with Kraftwerk to thank for the material), but with much less punch to their melodies, and Amm provides little of the production finesse heard on his previous Suction label recordings. He hasn't completely lost his touch, however; a few tracks push retro electronics into some interesting realms, led by the instrumentals "First Step" and "Science With Synthesizers." The final track, an alternate version of a track ("Steve Strange") first heard on a Suction label compilation, closes the record in fine fashion. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Synth pop and good-time fun, or at least that's what comes to mind immediately with Solvent's dancey homage to '80s kitsch, Solvent City. While Solvent's Solvent City isn't going to knock your socks off with its critical work on the periphery of dance music, it will do more than that and make you smile. After hearing so much of the serious dance music that's out there being intellectualized and eulogized, it's nice to have a disc that's both fun and happy. There's no end-time message or credo to the technologically ruled world here, just fun and exciting beats and '80s synth timbres. Solvent's Solvent City is a lighthearted and jovial disc that seems more like the soundtrack to an '80s Molly Ringwald movie than a 2001-released disc coming off the German label Morr Music. Solvent's Solvent City is a lot like Daft Punk's Discovery with its tribute to '80s kitsch. This is a fantastic recording and one that no synthesizer-fiend or lover of great music should be without. A fantastic disc and great work. ~ Matt Borghi, All Music Guide
