Rating:
Genre:
Rock
Release Date: 05/11/1999
Run Time: 71:53
The
industrial scene in the early '90s was very strongly influenced by the poppier take on the genre that Europe seemed to cultivate during the late '80s. The bands who appeared in the wake of this stylistic change varied from ambitious one-man projects (
Nine Inch Nails) to
metal bands incorporating
industrial flourishes (
Stabbing Westward) to
techno groups utilizing
industrial production techniques.
X Marks the Pedwalk falls into the latter category, crafting very urgent
techno tracks that feature dark
industrial vocals plastered over the top. Although this genre would eventually earn the tag
darkwave,
X Marks the Pedwalk was one of the first to mix the two styles, and
Retrospective attempts to document their efforts for the first 11 years of their career. Despite their importance in furthering the genre, the band didn't actually make their sound work until about halfway into their career, when they finally caught their sound up to the advances made in
electronic music. Before that, they made catchy but empty songs that are far more based in
Erasure and
New Order than
Throbbing Gristle. Because of their steady growth into a quality band, it makes it harder to recommend this collection. On one hand, the band's older material has an endearing charm because of how simple and dated it sounds. On the other hand, little of its original energy and power translates when compared to the wealth of good material that the genre has produced since. But to be fair, the album is an effective collection of their material and serves as an update to the previous singles collections released in the middle of the decade.
~Bradley Torreano, All Music Guide
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