Alice in Videoland

ALBUM NATIONAL RELEASE: APRIL 23, 2008 REVIEW: APRIL 29, 2008

Well, then. This should be short and sweet. More to the point and attitude-geared than anything in the business, Sweden's Alice in Videoland has produced another electronic sucker punch, packed with energy and insanely catchy hooks.
"She's a Machine" is, in all its explosiveness, very well balanced. Eight tracks clocking in at 27 minutes give the listener a brief, but feisty punky electro experience. Toril Lindqvist still deliver her breathy vocals with bursting charisma, screaming about parties, boys and her independence. All coated in that booming EBM-punk/synthpop batter.
Eight fantastic tracks from a fantastic band that doesn't give a shit if something's crooked or asymmetrical. Let's hope their unique synthrock on "She's a Machine" takes them further than the last time.
NIKLAS FORSBERG - Releasemagazine

Eat me drink me stylized electro pop from Sweden with a moniker that conjures up images of cathode rays and mirror balls.

Musically this CD is an aerobic romp from beginning to end with a few minor interludes that shine light on the bands musical ability and singer Toril Lindquist’s vocal range. I’ll highlight a few of the tracks, from the opener “Lay Me Down “ which walks the line between post-punk and new wave, this is pure stylish fun with a healthy heaping of rock and glam, a little stormer of an opener that gets the body moving and sets the tone and mood for this release.

We have an Erik Satie type of arrangement that builds up and slowly gives way to vibrating synth and high-hat on “Panic” then the song evolves into a wall of guitars alongside thumping percussion. another well executed piece of electro-pop goodness is the song “video girl” a poppy companion to Paul’s theme (the chase) by Giorgio Moroder from the film cat people a bit of distorted vocals draped over a very eighties sounding rhythm, which actually has a few steel drums thrown in for good measure, believe it or not the combination works.

The vocal styling of Toril Lindqvist have been likened at times to Dale Bozzio, Cyndi Lauper, and more recently Gwen Stefani in her No Doubt days, you can decide that one for yourself. One thing they do have in common though is that they all possess that essential “rock chick” attitude, look up some Alice in Videoland interviews and see.

Maiden Voyage originally saw the light of day in 2003 but thankfully, it has been re-released this time with five extra harder to find singles and remixes, included is “going down” which gets the artful remix by none other than Gabi Delgado who along with Robert Görl still are DAF, talk about having credentials, good going on that one.

The disc comes full circle with a remix of “lay me down” once again I couldn’t help but think of Giorgio Moroder, as this version gets the analog treatment giving it a slight retro feel, a churning clubby piece updated of course for a new millennium dance floor.

Should you find yourself falling under the spell of Alice in Videoland do yourself a favour and check out some of their videos on youtube. - Heathen Haarvest

What’s that new musical animal hailing from Sweden!!!!!! Oh my God, how am I going to describe what I’ve been listening to non-stop for weeks now?! Take minimal 80’s synth pop music, upgrade its processor to an upbeat EBM assault, add to it a bitchy disco punk female singer… Well, now you have a vague image of what this astounding Swedish combo is all about! The kind of kitsch cyber-punkish electronic music the band displays on this debut album is nothing but the refreshment I have always been waiting for years now! It’s so challenging that their peculiar mixture of influences ranging from Sex Pistols to DAF with a little garage rock touch on top, might open them some doors to the mainstream world with all that electro clash and retro-lectronic trend making the fuzz all over the globe. With uplifting songs like “Got To Go” or yet “Red” or even “Sweet Thing”, Alice In Videoland deserve applauds and an immediate success. My tip! (TSF:9) TSF - Music non stop

Det är releasefest för den nya skivan ”She’s a Machine” (2008) och Alice in Videolands andra spelning för i år men det märks inte på långa vägar. Publiken är med redan från första låten men det är först när bandet spelar den gamla godingen ”Naked” tätt följt av ”Lady Killer” som Sticky Fingers förvandlas från ett publikhav till ett dansgolv. Något som kan vara ett problem på klubbspelningar är att sången dränks i ljuden från alla andra instrument men det lyckades de riktigt bra med. Det enda problemet med ljudet är att det strular med en trummikrofon men det löser sig galant med lite spontant mellansnack.
Alice in Videoland har även en riktigt snygg ljusshow som känns genomtänk till låtarna.
På scenen har medlemmarna i Alice in Videoland väldigt karaktäristiska och varierande rörelsemönster vilket resulterar i att det aldrig blir tråkigt att kolla på dem. De har en fantastisk publikkontakt och de utstrålar en glädje som snabbt smittar av sig till publiken. Man ser verkligen på bandmedlemmarna att de älskar att stå på scen och de gillar även att showa. Trummisen gestikulerar väldigt mycket när han spelar och han använde sig även av det klassiska tricket att hälla vatten på virveltrumman så att det skvätter åt alla håll när han slår på den.
Låtvalet är riktigt bra och Alice in Videoland spelar ungefär lika mycket nytt och gammalt. Under extranumren känns det som att de bara spelade bättre låtar hela tiden och det märks verkligen på publiken. Man kan säga att Alice in Videoland använder sig av uttrycket ”sluta när man är på topp” för det var precis vad de gjorde. Under sista låten ”Cut the Crap” exploderar hela stället och när bandet kliver av för sista gången vill man bara ha mer. Det spelar synthinspirerad musik men ändå är det ett helt fantastiskt liveband. Låtarna låter inte som att de spelas direkt från skivan utan det känns levande. Bandet levererar hit efter hit och har en grym scenshow. Mycket mer kan man inte begära av ett liveframträdande. [10/10] - Twistmagazine

The super poppy party of Swedish Alice In Videoland doesn't leave you with open mouth after hearing the newest album She's A Machine, but they do manage to improve their own sound and meeting all expectations. The eight songs are short and catchy as usual, and mostly do the high 'partie-bility', it's a great album in preparation for Friday night clubbing.

The album is short and anjoyable, and won't leave you with difficult questions afterwards. For a minute, the band thinks they have to express some sort of message ('We Are Rebels'), but it's clear the coating of these love songs only express the joy of flirting and partying. This is specifically well done by the use of synthesizer sounds, guitars, and especially the lollypop-punk vocals by Toril Lindqvist. The songs that will stick in your head (oh, and trust me, you will sing along) are 'Numb', 'MF', and the very flirty 'Who's That Boy' that manage to combine these elements into a proper song.

It's the first album that will be available in the rest of Europe, by the way. After releasing a "Plus"-version of the debut Maiden Voyage in the US, the German label Prussia Records will release the album on two CDs with remixes and out-takes on the second disc. That will result in more minutes of listening pleasure, and therewith also solves the sole problem of this release; it only takes 26 minutes and 59 seconds of your time. It can also be previewed at www.aliceinvideoland.org.

Band: Alice in Videoland(int)
Label: National
Genre: electro (ebm / dark electro / minimal electro(clash) / synthpop)
Type: cd
Grade: 8.3
Review by: Eelco - Gothtronic