CD, BOREDOMproduct, 2005
dekad.free.fr
Out on the french label BOREDOMproduct, “Sin_Lab” is the debut album of French Darkwave/Electro Pop act Dekad. A quite good album, mostly geared for the dancefloor, with a decidedly retro flavour. In some ways, it is almost a throwback to old-school sounds and themes that continue to have a marked influence in music nowadays.
“Sin_Lab” is, from beginning to end, a coherent piece of musical work in which care was taken with all aspects of production, from music to vocals and lyrics. Despite this, the musical arrangements of a few of the songs sound somewhat thin and papery and could use some more work to add variety as there aren’t many variations to accommodate the voice. A bit more of guitar work could have been used to add extra spice to some of the songs in “Sin_Lab”.
The beat count in “Sin_Lab” rarely goes below 120bpm’s and pretty much every song has potential for dark dancefloors (and not only), from slower tracks like “Poor Child”, “Dare” and “Peaceful” to more energetic tracks like “Tell me”, “Never too late” and “Electro Freak”.
Dekad’s music would inevitably sound arid if it wasn’t for Seb’s vocals which are impeccable: clear, deep and emotive, although controlled and sometimes distant. Ultimately he is responsible for defining Dekad’s musical identity. Seb’s French accent shows a lot but that actually adds a certain charm to his singing and to the band.
Lyrically, Dekad follow a strongly Romantic vein with musings on themes of love and desire, regret and loneliness. Somewhat clichéd perhaps, but well-written and sung with sentiment they sound quite acceptable. Lyrics and vocals-wise, my only regret is that Dekad haven’t included any song in French.
The use of breakbeats, in the song “Emergency”, was a bit of an interesting surprise and it is something that probably could have been explored a bit further. With its contagious music and catchy lyrics, “Electro Freak” is the track in which Dekad’s talent and energy truly shine through, it is the anthem song of the album and it almost feels like “Sin_Lab” fizzles out a bit after it.
[7/10]
— M. (some pointers by James Ryan)