ARTICLES, REVIEWS
Short review on album "Fragile Border" from SYNTHEMA.RU (RU)
(by "Count Death")
16.01.2022
(by "Count Death")
16.01.2022
"THE TRIO wanted to "revive the traditions of early synth bands and combine them with a particular gothic atmosphere. The Russians succeeded and even more."
READ
IX reflections was formed in 2017 in Moscow and is positioned as a female-fronted darkwave trio.
The trio, consisting of singer Joe, guitarist and keyboardist Alex and bassist Lana, wanted to "revive the traditions of early synth bands and combine them with a particular gothic atmosphere," as it is written on their pages in social networks. The Russians succeeded and even more. Combining synth-goth with coldwave and post-punk, the music of IX reflections periodically enters the realm of gothic synth-rock. Joe's light, at the same time detached and emotional vocals create the very atmosphere that the musicians themselves wrote about. And their great memorable songs are still playing in my head long after listening. A very strong debut work of the Russians.
2nd place in the top 10 for 2021.
Review by: "Count_Death"
Read the original Russian article here: http://www.synthema.ru/76428-luchshee-za-2021-ot-count_death-elektronnaya-goticheskaya-muzyka.html
The trio, consisting of singer Joe, guitarist and keyboardist Alex and bassist Lana, wanted to "revive the traditions of early synth bands and combine them with a particular gothic atmosphere," as it is written on their pages in social networks. The Russians succeeded and even more. Combining synth-goth with coldwave and post-punk, the music of IX reflections periodically enters the realm of gothic synth-rock. Joe's light, at the same time detached and emotional vocals create the very atmosphere that the musicians themselves wrote about. And their great memorable songs are still playing in my head long after listening. A very strong debut work of the Russians.
2nd place in the top 10 for 2021.
Review by: "Count_Death"
Read the original Russian article here: http://www.synthema.ru/76428-luchshee-za-2021-ot-count_death-elektronnaya-goticheskaya-muzyka.html
Review on album "Fragile Border" from HOT-ROCK.RU (RU)
(by Diana "Isis Bite" Țepeș)
31.03.2021
(by Diana "Isis Bite" Țepeș)
31.03.2021
"ATMOSPHERIC ELECTRONICS AWAKEN THE IMAGINATION AND SUGGEST STYLISH HORROR STORIES WITH A SLIGHT HINT OF MYSTERIOUS EROTICISM, AND THE VOCALS OF THEIR SAD SINGER ARE AS GOOD AS A MAGICAL DREAM."
READ
I wonder if I'm the only one to recall Gaiman with his "Coraline" and Lena Eltang (*contemporary Russian poet and writer) with her "Stone Maples" while looking at the album cover of this band? Of course, personal associations are a purely personal matter, but the quality and overall level of the release in this case are absolutely obvious, and they are absolutely somewhere at the level of the mentioned authors and their works.
The debut full-length album of this yet-unknown band jumped onto our alternative stage like a jack-in-the-box, and its appearance calls for "the debut of the year" in its genre, no less. However, the participants of this mysterious trio are hardly newcomers in the music world, and in their music you can hear the echoes of mysterious and pleasant musical formations like Fatal Aim, Black Heaven, Angelzoom and X-Perience, which in itself is a testimony and a characteristic marker indicating their experience and consistency.
Atmospheric electronics performed by these darkwavers (darkweavers?) wakes up the imagination and suggests stylish horror stories with a slight taste of mysterious eroticism, and the vocals of their sad singer are good as a magical dream. Kirlian Camera, Spectra*Paris, Killing Ophelia, Schiller, Fading Colors - lists of musical associations immediately pop up in my head as soon as I listen to the first half of the first track from "Fragile Border", and these are definitely promising and seducing associations.
The fragile intonations of the vocalist and the semi-avant-garde overlaps of the instrumental part complement each other like yin and yang, and the cheerful dance tempo binds all this together and confidently draws us along the paths of wanderings and unexpected discoveries.
The elastic pulse of synthesizers turns into synthetic abstractions and then breaks into the classical planes of Depeche Mode. The tracks don't seem drastically different on this album, but each of them for sure has its own personality.
"Sleeping Beauty" is a real electronic ballad, "Fade In The Dark" seems to be written under the impression of the creativity of Ofra Khaza, "Follow Your Tracks" seems to be created with the intention of becoming a soundtrack for a computer game, and "Kangastus" sounds like an ancient Egyptian spell that has become an electronic composition.
By the way, they released all 3 of their earlier singles on CDs, and one of them even came out on audio cassettes, from which we can conclude that the trio members treat their sound with increased and demonstrative attention and even fanaticism.
And what is most striking and surprising in this case is the mood with which IX reflections weave their musical web. These are almost meditations, but attractive - heated, entertaining, almost adventurous meditations, which leave a feeling of controlled dreams, where you finally managed to realize all your most secret, cherished and forbidden dreams and bold erotic wishes. The taste of understatement, absolute unpredictability and melancholic distance of the vocals together leave a stunning impression of a ghostly phantasmagoria that has become music, and the glassy darkwave, detached dark electro and wild synthetic rock are the best and inseparable friends in the grotesque world of IX reflections.
Review by: Diana "Isis Bite" Țepeș
Read the original Russian article here: http://hot-rock.ru/4329-ix-reflections-fragile-border-2021.html
The debut full-length album of this yet-unknown band jumped onto our alternative stage like a jack-in-the-box, and its appearance calls for "the debut of the year" in its genre, no less. However, the participants of this mysterious trio are hardly newcomers in the music world, and in their music you can hear the echoes of mysterious and pleasant musical formations like Fatal Aim, Black Heaven, Angelzoom and X-Perience, which in itself is a testimony and a characteristic marker indicating their experience and consistency.
Atmospheric electronics performed by these darkwavers (darkweavers?) wakes up the imagination and suggests stylish horror stories with a slight taste of mysterious eroticism, and the vocals of their sad singer are good as a magical dream. Kirlian Camera, Spectra*Paris, Killing Ophelia, Schiller, Fading Colors - lists of musical associations immediately pop up in my head as soon as I listen to the first half of the first track from "Fragile Border", and these are definitely promising and seducing associations.
The fragile intonations of the vocalist and the semi-avant-garde overlaps of the instrumental part complement each other like yin and yang, and the cheerful dance tempo binds all this together and confidently draws us along the paths of wanderings and unexpected discoveries.
The elastic pulse of synthesizers turns into synthetic abstractions and then breaks into the classical planes of Depeche Mode. The tracks don't seem drastically different on this album, but each of them for sure has its own personality.
"Sleeping Beauty" is a real electronic ballad, "Fade In The Dark" seems to be written under the impression of the creativity of Ofra Khaza, "Follow Your Tracks" seems to be created with the intention of becoming a soundtrack for a computer game, and "Kangastus" sounds like an ancient Egyptian spell that has become an electronic composition.
By the way, they released all 3 of their earlier singles on CDs, and one of them even came out on audio cassettes, from which we can conclude that the trio members treat their sound with increased and demonstrative attention and even fanaticism.
And what is most striking and surprising in this case is the mood with which IX reflections weave their musical web. These are almost meditations, but attractive - heated, entertaining, almost adventurous meditations, which leave a feeling of controlled dreams, where you finally managed to realize all your most secret, cherished and forbidden dreams and bold erotic wishes. The taste of understatement, absolute unpredictability and melancholic distance of the vocals together leave a stunning impression of a ghostly phantasmagoria that has become music, and the glassy darkwave, detached dark electro and wild synthetic rock are the best and inseparable friends in the grotesque world of IX reflections.
Review by: Diana "Isis Bite" Țepeș
Read the original Russian article here: http://hot-rock.ru/4329-ix-reflections-fragile-border-2021.html
Review on album "Fragile Border" from ASTARTA (RU)
(by Alexey "Astarte Eel" Irineev)
26.03.2021
(by Alexey "Astarte Eel" Irineev)
26.03.2021
"HAVE YOU EVER WOKEN UP IN THE DARK, SAT ON THE BED IN RINGING SILENCE OF THE NIGHT, LOOKED UNDER THE BED AND MET THE GAZE OF SOMEONE OTHERWORLDLY, INCOMPREHENSIBLE, BUT TERRIBLY ATTRACTIVE?"
READ
The fact that electronic music and in particular darkwave can be very different, sometimes even piercing, soulful and charming, has become clear since the early L'Ame Immortelle times. Or in fact it was even earlier. However, there is no point in delving into the history and searching for the essence and causes of musical phenomena, digging into the genealogy, because right here and now all fans of good, high-quality and meaningful electronics can enjoy the wonderful debut of an excellent Moscow band "IX reflections" with a great deal of pleasure.
Why wonderful? To my mind, a really good album should have a heart, a soul, an impressive atmosphere and a stylish presentation, and all these components are perfectly presented and observed in the case of "Fragile Border". The band members went even further and noticeably retouched their sound as stylish retro low-fi, and then gracefully complemented this synthetic minimalism with restrained vocal vignettes and various beautiful nuances designed to ennoble their soundscapes.
I must say right away, the members of the line-up are not newcomers to the alternative scene and have already lit up many places with other bands, and therefore all the achievements of IX reflections listed above are not some random lottery win. The guys have clearly thought everything out, worked out the strategy in detail, and the concept and visual component will certainly be end-to-end and will return to the air on subsequent releases of the team. But here it would be appropriate to pay a little more attention to just this very concept.
The band is not accidentally compared to Angelzoom, Fading Colors and Fatal Aim, and it's not just about female vocals. The psychedelic fabulousness of their album and the visionary-apocalyptic images of the music video dived their tentacles deep into the sound and mood of this release, making it almost alive. Have you ever woken up in the dark, sat on the bed in this ringing silence of the night, looked under the bed and met the gaze of someone strange, amazing, otherworldly, incomprehensible, but terribly attractive? If yes, then "Fragile Border" will bring you similar experiences!
And having dug deeper into the laser tracks of this compact, you will probably very soon agree with those who believe that IX Reflections with their debut turned out to be, if not fully, then almost brilliant. In everything from the image (Alice in Wonderland and Neil Gaiman's Coraline in one person, the vocalist hiding behind the conspiratorial nickname Joe) and ending with the sound (retro synth wave in the best tradition of very straightforward and very old bands) and vocals (cold, distracted, restrained, but still very cool and multi-layered female voice with a lot of interesting effects and overlays), the album is almost flawless and incredibly good.
Critics and musicians of cult bands of the past like Bioconstructor (*pioneers of Russian synthpop and industrial) have already sung their laudatory odes to this project and their debut full-length album, but, as alcoholics say, let's look at everything soberly. And if we look soberly and with the impartiality mode turned on, then the general landscape of the IX reflections sound and its emotional coloring do not change so much throughout the album, but that fits perfectly within the band's concept. Even if you don't like retro minimalism, fairy tales, never dreamed of waking up a Sleeping Beauty with a kiss and you don't care about sound perfectionism and physical media (yes, they released their singles even on cassettes, and "Fragile Border" is available on both tapes and CDs!), you can hardly resist the detached charm of a beautiful stranger named Joe.
The members of IX reflections do not particularly hide their musical side projects, but they do not advertise them specifically, and therefore I will not name them now either, I will only say that if you liked "Fragile Border", it makes sense to spend a little time and effort, solve this small quest and evaluate the creativity of the band members who have hidden their identities behind new and unusual aliases in their other music projects. Questing is another feature that characteristically distinguishes "Fragile Border", and I have absolutely no doubt that many people will want to wander through these wild forests filled with eyed trees (*reference to the album cover), and most of those who once visited the territories of Nine Reflections will return there again and again.
Review by: Alexey "Astarte Eel" Irineev
Read the original Russian article here: http://astartaview.ru/recenziya-na-albom-gruppy-ix-reflections-fragile-border/
Why wonderful? To my mind, a really good album should have a heart, a soul, an impressive atmosphere and a stylish presentation, and all these components are perfectly presented and observed in the case of "Fragile Border". The band members went even further and noticeably retouched their sound as stylish retro low-fi, and then gracefully complemented this synthetic minimalism with restrained vocal vignettes and various beautiful nuances designed to ennoble their soundscapes.
I must say right away, the members of the line-up are not newcomers to the alternative scene and have already lit up many places with other bands, and therefore all the achievements of IX reflections listed above are not some random lottery win. The guys have clearly thought everything out, worked out the strategy in detail, and the concept and visual component will certainly be end-to-end and will return to the air on subsequent releases of the team. But here it would be appropriate to pay a little more attention to just this very concept.
The band is not accidentally compared to Angelzoom, Fading Colors and Fatal Aim, and it's not just about female vocals. The psychedelic fabulousness of their album and the visionary-apocalyptic images of the music video dived their tentacles deep into the sound and mood of this release, making it almost alive. Have you ever woken up in the dark, sat on the bed in this ringing silence of the night, looked under the bed and met the gaze of someone strange, amazing, otherworldly, incomprehensible, but terribly attractive? If yes, then "Fragile Border" will bring you similar experiences!
And having dug deeper into the laser tracks of this compact, you will probably very soon agree with those who believe that IX Reflections with their debut turned out to be, if not fully, then almost brilliant. In everything from the image (Alice in Wonderland and Neil Gaiman's Coraline in one person, the vocalist hiding behind the conspiratorial nickname Joe) and ending with the sound (retro synth wave in the best tradition of very straightforward and very old bands) and vocals (cold, distracted, restrained, but still very cool and multi-layered female voice with a lot of interesting effects and overlays), the album is almost flawless and incredibly good.
Critics and musicians of cult bands of the past like Bioconstructor (*pioneers of Russian synthpop and industrial) have already sung their laudatory odes to this project and their debut full-length album, but, as alcoholics say, let's look at everything soberly. And if we look soberly and with the impartiality mode turned on, then the general landscape of the IX reflections sound and its emotional coloring do not change so much throughout the album, but that fits perfectly within the band's concept. Even if you don't like retro minimalism, fairy tales, never dreamed of waking up a Sleeping Beauty with a kiss and you don't care about sound perfectionism and physical media (yes, they released their singles even on cassettes, and "Fragile Border" is available on both tapes and CDs!), you can hardly resist the detached charm of a beautiful stranger named Joe.
The members of IX reflections do not particularly hide their musical side projects, but they do not advertise them specifically, and therefore I will not name them now either, I will only say that if you liked "Fragile Border", it makes sense to spend a little time and effort, solve this small quest and evaluate the creativity of the band members who have hidden their identities behind new and unusual aliases in their other music projects. Questing is another feature that characteristically distinguishes "Fragile Border", and I have absolutely no doubt that many people will want to wander through these wild forests filled with eyed trees (*reference to the album cover), and most of those who once visited the territories of Nine Reflections will return there again and again.
Review by: Alexey "Astarte Eel" Irineev
Read the original Russian article here: http://astartaview.ru/recenziya-na-albom-gruppy-ix-reflections-fragile-border/
Discussion of IX reflections - "New Man's Born" music video in "Muzrazborki" show (RU) (begins from 29:20) (Russian language only)
18.03.2021
18.03.2021
Review on "Fragile Border" from SPIRITOFROCK.RU (RU)
(by Diana «Isis Bite» Țepeș)
17.03.2021
(by Diana «Isis Bite» Țepeș)
17.03.2021
"ON "FRAGILE BORDER" EVERYTHING IS DEMONSTRATIVELY FRAGILE AND UNREAL: YOU TOUCH IT, YOU LOOK A LITTLE CLOSER THAN USUAL, YOU TURN AROUND CARELESSLY - IT'S READY TO CRUMBLE, TREMBLE, TREMBLE AND DISAPPEAR FOREVER..."
READ
It's not often that I come across albums, listening to which is able to nourish my mind and soul as deeply and comprehensively as a good book rich in images, but sometimes this still happens. Hmm, "as deeply"? Sometimes music albums are even deeper and more organic than their literary reflection, and in this case all this is great reminiscent of a big and that there are forces gushing with serious passion love-passion, into which you dive headlong and frolic in its bubbling festive soda pools like a dolphin who has just heard the cherished "yes" from his beloved mermaid.
Mirrors, reflections, fragility, conventionality of the boundaries of the real world, beyond which the misty and amazing possessions of the Looking Glass begin - does this remind you of anything? So all this psychedelic aesthetics brought to my mind Lewis Carroll and his Alice, who first fell after the rabbit into his hole, and then managed to crawl into the world that stretches on the other side of the mirror in her room. But what attracts us so much in fairy tales? Someone will answer that this is unrestrained imagination, unpredictability and a hint that even the strangest, unimaginable and amazing things are possible and real, another will mention the beauty, polarity and power of the images living there, a third will speak out for the crazy drive of impressions that makes us feel alive one hundred and two hundred percent and everyone will be right in their own way, and IX reflections heartily use all these components to create their own music tracks.
The participants of IX reflections are seen as part of Art Of Violet and some other groups, and, frankly, I don't quite understand why it was necessary to launch another autonomous project, but if it happened, then it's necessary, and I definitely like it. I am pleased with the theme, direction and aesthetics of the project, incredibly impressed by their sound and the special mood that the vocalist's voice informs these tracks, and if "Fragile Border" has a sequel, I would like to hear it, but what about their debut longplay?
On "Fragile Border" everything is demonstratively fragile and unreal: you touch it, you look a little closer than usual, you turn around carelessly - it's ready to crumble, tremble, tremble and disappear forever, as if it had never been there. And although the members of this trio are very restrained and calm in their musical experiments, behind such apparent external equanimity lies a huge depth and an amazing variety of emotions. An explosion of endorphins. It is no accident that I saw a dolphin getting high a little higher - if you listen to this ten-track album from beginning to end, there is a real chance to turn into such a dolphin yourself and forget your human nature forever.
Twenty years ago, a guide to fairy tales like "Fragile Border" was tried by the then sensational Angelzoom, and then it was also great, bright, colorful and in the theme, but IX reflections is now even more interesting in some way, and the reason for that is their restraint, mystery and the enticing sensuality of their vocalist. It would be difficult to make a space aerobics session more attractive and hit than it has already turned out for these Muscovites, and for this they should also be given credit – their ideas sound. Moreover, it is bright, beautiful and unusual like button eyes, a creepy spider living at the end of the tunnel, which is behind a small strange door, talking flowers and a smile without a cat.
Rating: 7/10
Review by: Diana «Isis Bite» Țepeș
Read the original Russian article here: https://spiritofrock.ru/autors/ix-reflections-fragile-border-recenzija-albom/
Mirrors, reflections, fragility, conventionality of the boundaries of the real world, beyond which the misty and amazing possessions of the Looking Glass begin - does this remind you of anything? So all this psychedelic aesthetics brought to my mind Lewis Carroll and his Alice, who first fell after the rabbit into his hole, and then managed to crawl into the world that stretches on the other side of the mirror in her room. But what attracts us so much in fairy tales? Someone will answer that this is unrestrained imagination, unpredictability and a hint that even the strangest, unimaginable and amazing things are possible and real, another will mention the beauty, polarity and power of the images living there, a third will speak out for the crazy drive of impressions that makes us feel alive one hundred and two hundred percent and everyone will be right in their own way, and IX reflections heartily use all these components to create their own music tracks.
The participants of IX reflections are seen as part of Art Of Violet and some other groups, and, frankly, I don't quite understand why it was necessary to launch another autonomous project, but if it happened, then it's necessary, and I definitely like it. I am pleased with the theme, direction and aesthetics of the project, incredibly impressed by their sound and the special mood that the vocalist's voice informs these tracks, and if "Fragile Border" has a sequel, I would like to hear it, but what about their debut longplay?
On "Fragile Border" everything is demonstratively fragile and unreal: you touch it, you look a little closer than usual, you turn around carelessly - it's ready to crumble, tremble, tremble and disappear forever, as if it had never been there. And although the members of this trio are very restrained and calm in their musical experiments, behind such apparent external equanimity lies a huge depth and an amazing variety of emotions. An explosion of endorphins. It is no accident that I saw a dolphin getting high a little higher - if you listen to this ten-track album from beginning to end, there is a real chance to turn into such a dolphin yourself and forget your human nature forever.
Twenty years ago, a guide to fairy tales like "Fragile Border" was tried by the then sensational Angelzoom, and then it was also great, bright, colorful and in the theme, but IX reflections is now even more interesting in some way, and the reason for that is their restraint, mystery and the enticing sensuality of their vocalist. It would be difficult to make a space aerobics session more attractive and hit than it has already turned out for these Muscovites, and for this they should also be given credit – their ideas sound. Moreover, it is bright, beautiful and unusual like button eyes, a creepy spider living at the end of the tunnel, which is behind a small strange door, talking flowers and a smile without a cat.
Rating: 7/10
Review by: Diana «Isis Bite» Țepeș
Read the original Russian article here: https://spiritofrock.ru/autors/ix-reflections-fragile-border-recenzija-albom/
© IX reflections, 2024.
