THE NEON JUDGEMENT

EN

The Neon Judgment, the band of, or rather the duo consisting of TB Frank and Dirk Dadavo who are enjoying their TNJ retirement but still found it important to introduce our listeners to the later years of the band. After all, the famous 80s releases have already been compiled a hundred times before, so to speak, but the band also released albums well into the 90s and 00s after their successful [PIAS] years. Three to be precise and each time on a different label; “At Devil's Fork” (1995, Synthetic Symphony), “Daszoo” (1998, KK Records) and “Smack” (2009 on Dirk Dadavo's own DanceDelic-D label). These three albums form the content of this compilation album.

The first side starts with the remix version of “A Nicer Person” (also released as a single), the hit from “At Devil's Fork” that bears an unmistakable The Neon Judgment stamp, also the 1995 version of the cult hit “TV Treated” from this album is present. Unfortunately I never liked this version much, which frantically explores the boundaries with techno and shows The Neon Judgment as a duo looking to connect with a newer sound, while their original 'sound' was and is so strong that these experiments were almost doomed to fail. “Serve” also shows this search with a somewhat hip-hop flair but still ties in even more strongly with the electro wave as we know it from The Neon Judgment.

In the meantime, we are already on the B-side with our needle because the other songs on the A-side are taken from the last studio album “Smack”, which in my opinion is still underrated. “Smack” proves once again with 4 strong songs in its own slightly refined sound (this was 2009 after all) that The Neon Judgment were still going strong. “Leash” became a hit but songs like “Shiny Happiness”, “We are Confused” and especially “The Great Consumer” are also great, danceable electro wave track. If you don't know them, you better buy this release, what's more, if you order now as an 'early bird' you will even get an extra The Neon Judgment goodie for free! No, not a pin but signed copies of other TNJ releases and even a test pressing! For more information, consult the Facebook page of Je M' En Fish.

But back to the B-side now, there are also a few undistributed songs from the “Daszoo” album. Songs that sound slightly more experimental than the electro wave that we know from the band but that are less frenetic in their search to connect with the sound of a new generation, although a remarkable influence of the techno genre can also be heard here. I'm talking about the songs “Hdrom Temptation”, “Jazzbox” (the single from the album with its characteristic pumping bass and 'inieminiemanimo' line) and “Turki”. With “Turki”, this “Bleu Screens 1995 -2009”, is a wrap. A compilation that shows that The Neon Judgment was more than their well known music from the 80s, especially in our scene, and a more than interesting addition to any collection of he/she/x alternative (Belgian) music enthusiast or just a fan of this duo. A great collaboration between Dirk Dadavo's own DanceDelic-D label and the Je M'en Fish label. Limited to 300 copies!

Kurt INGELS
27/10/2023

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NL

De Nederlandstalige versie van deze bespreking vind u HIER bij onze collega's van Dark Entries Magazine!

Kurt INGELS
27/10/2023

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