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French music scene has been always a kind of a mystery for me, which I has not dared to explore so far... However, any excuse is good, especially, when it comes to album of group that so contributed like Porn. Both the name of the band, and the music they play, is inspired by the achievements of The Cure (or Nine Inch Nails). And yes, on "From The Void To The Infinite" can be heard a lot of characteristic to the Americans subtlety, but it is not the dominant element. Much more often emphasized are industrial parts, that give the tracks a certain pugnacity. A good example is "I Died Twice", where you can hear both light influences of The Cure, as the gently affecting the sound synthesizers; and therefore this track sounds very fresh as for the genre that is so popular. A very important aspect is also the voice of a singer – he reaches both for more rock and rough ("Not With A Bang"), and extremely high ("Love Like War") vocals. However, despite these all commercially perfect treatments the record of French has an average sounding. Porn seems to burn out after the first 5 songs. Noteworthy is aforementioned "Love Like War" – it is the track, that meets almost all requirements for a radio hit - nice melodies, vocalist with a clean vocal or positively exploding chorus, that by the way is very 'digestible' for the average consumer of this type of music. In turn "We Are Weapons (Shoot Your Headers)" by exposed guitars can sound at the beginning more rebelliously, but the rhythmic repetitions definitely eliminate that so called rock character. That track, in which the 'true' instruments are extended to the fore, may remind some work of Siamese Fighting Fish, but the impression is limited only to that song. The last thing that draws attention is "The Machineries Of Joy" - melancholic, sung with some reproach, but unnaturally courteous – in the end sounds a bit plastic, although against all comes off very decently. The rest of the tracks is just boring - melodies are not ear-catching, and vocals blend with some gray instrumental pulp... Although few songs on "From The Void To The Infinite" is really decent, the whole album can be a signal, that the French begin to burn out and they lack of new ideas. But because they have so much rebellion and reproach to the world, they may create a punk band?

Tracklist:

01. I Died Twice
02. Not With A Bang
03. Love Like War
04. We Are Weapons (Shoot Your Headers)
05. Nothing Like You
06. The Machineries Of Joy
07. Same Old Story
08. A Duty Dance With Death
09. In The Wrong Lane
10. No Dominion
11. Lullaby X


Other articles:

• Porn - A Decade In Glitter And Danger - 2012-06-14 (Music reviews)

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