CD, Heartcore, 2006
www.addicted2fiction.com
Conceived by band members Aisha and Hellkiss in July 2002, Addicted2Fiction are one of many bands that have started to revitalize the Darkwave scene of the 90’s. Taking all the best parts of Synthpop, Electropop, New Wave and the before mentioned Darkwave, they blend all of their talents together to create a unique modern approach to a fairly retro sound. Through the years the duo have seen several different sides of the musical spectrum having been in various types of acts. This would probably explain why the bands self-titled debut album boasts a myriad of influences throughout.
The album kicks in with the ultra-groovy single “No Silence”. Its gradual tempo changes and masterfully mirrored vocals from the bands female fronted entourage give good reason for this particular track to be selected as the single from the album. It sets the mood perfectly for the albums overall concept, and is a good choice to showcase the bands talents. The second track to really catch the attention of my ears was the very Numan-esque “Day & Age”. The track quite happily glides along at a steady pace and it’s definitely one of the songs that will grip the listener with its semi electronic/semi-acoustic sounding harmonies. “A Common Place” again offers another glamorous high point to the release. In this particular opus, the band have found a rather interesting way of melding a pulsating synthesizer beat with a softly composed violin melody, creating a strange yet blissful piece that truly shows the bands inner talent. If there were one track that most people would recognize from gazing at the back of the CD, it would be the cover of the brilliant yet unfortunately overplayed club smash “Dead Stars”. Put simply, A2F’s rendition of the Covenant classic is fantastic. They really have managed a great feat in employing their own sound without losing any of the originals tenacity. Hopefully, when the act start getting noticed and their music reaches a larger audience, then this will bring new life to the hit.
With everything from Electro-Punk to almost Neo-Folk styles covered on this album, it’s hard to not to be impressed by the debut album from A2F. Being it that the band has clearly been looking at different ways of bringing various musical genres into their work, just makes them that more appealing and interesting. A good solid debut from this Los Angeles based act and before long I can see them turning a few heads.
[8/10]
— Paul Marcham