Reviews


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Remains [Vinyl LP]

A Side
From the start what a brilliant retro sound "Far Places" brings. Reminding me of the electronic art sounds of Jean Michel Jarre and Vangelis. Then so well this blends in with the following dark wave sound and vocals. Making for what becomes a catchy electropop track blended with dark wave. The sorrowful dark vocals are extraordinarily good matching the mood and sound perfectly. The synthesizer work and accompanying drums and keyboards are first class.

"Ashes" has such a great melody and danceable beat, as the dark and mellow vocals make it sound so much like gothic synthpop, and again so very catchy. The overall sound reminds me of so much from John Leyton in the early 1960's, to Jonathan Richman and his protopunk sound of the 1970's, to Deine Lakaien. This is real quality which I can't fault. This time the track also features some nice guitar work and you will feel that the vocal lines really get hold of you.

"Ride" provides a good bass driven guitar rhythm, and some lovely tones to match the ever mellow vocals, this time with a more haunting sound, which again won't let you go. The mellowness of the vocals is matched by the synth melody. 

...
[Link]
Brutal Resonance, Remains, 9 of 10 Points

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Orkus 04/2012

Dusk to Dawn

Exit

Dusk to Dawn bieten eine wunderbar ausgereifte Mischung zwischen Synth Pop, Dark Wave und Electro. Lange war es ruhig um die 1991 in Grevenbroich gegründete Formation, doch Blogs mit aktuellen Rezensionen alter Stücke, MP3-Uploads und YouTube-Videos, allesamt ohne Wissen der Musiker erstellt, riefen enorm viel Echo hervor.

Die meisten Zuschriften kamen aus Südeuropa und den USA; Fragen nach dem Verbleib der Band und um Erlaubnis, einige Tracks auf verschiedenen Portalen zu präsentieren, bildeten den Tenor des überraschenden Feedbacks. Hatten die Musiker zuletzt 1997 gemeinsames Material produziert, führte das Interesse zu aufgefrischter Korrespondenz untereinander und 2011 zu einer weiteren Session in Originalbesetzung, aus welcher drei neue Nummern resultierten... Das überzeugende Exit ist eine von ihnen.

Orkus über den CD-Compilation-Beitrag Exit

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Dusk to Dawn

Exit

Dusk to Dawn are offering a wonderful mixture of synth pop, dark wave and electro. It had been quiet for a long while around the formation that was founded back in 1991 in Grevenbroich [Germany], but blogs with reviews of the old pieces, mp3 uploads and YouTube videos, all of them compiled without knowledge of the band, evoked quite a response.

Most of the direct mails came from South Europe and the US; people were asking about the band’s continuance or if they could present some of the old tracks on their digital platforms – all of the same surprising tenor. The last time the musicians had produced some material together was in 1997. Now, the new interest in them led to refreshed communication and in 2011 to a recording session of the original lineup, resulting in three new songs… The convincing Exit is one of them.


Orkus on the CD contribution with Exit

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Brutal Resonance
(on the Existence EP, 1 April 2012)

Formed in 1991 and releasing various material, Dusk to Dawn return after a surge of popularity in recent years leading them to release the Existence EP. This 3 track EP, lasting around 13 minutes can best be described as Dark Synthpop, tracks include: "Sole Survivor", "Homecoming", and "Exit".

After a few listens to the EP, I managed to get quite a good comprehension of each track and their delightfully pleasant sound. "Sole Survivor" reminds me of some VNV Nation work and really cannot be faulted for its quality, a strong opening track on this EP.

The second track, "Homecoming" again resonated sounds of some Covenant work and is the more calmer track on the album, a very soft and elegent flow through the EP on this second track. A strong soothing track for sure with some great lyrical work.

The third track, "Exit" bursts back into the atmosphere of "Sole Survivor" making it a more upbeat track whilst still maintaining the flow of the previous tracks. Again, a strong track, as are all tracks on this EP. Clean mellow vocals mixed with some slightly dark lyrics tied with the very individual sound on each track really sets their music apart.

"Negative points are really just content based as opposed to quality of the music. For being so bare in length and variety in terms of other artists and remix work; being able to hear alternate takes or reworks of the tracks from other artists may have not only boosted the enjoyability but maybe also future releases for Dusk to Dawn.

After listening quite a few times, since all three tracks have been stuck in my head the past few days I can safely say that release, however short, is strong. A bold and sharp return for Dusk to Dawn who will hopefully be releasing much more quality work in time."

(Brutal Resonance about 'Existence', giving it 8/10 points)

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"An Dusk To Dawn dürften sich allenfalls die älteren Semester noch erinnern, hat die Grevenbroicher Band doch seit nunmehr 16 Jahren nichts veröffentlicht. Eine beachtliche Zeit, doch das Songschreiben hat das Trio glücklicherweise nicht verlernt, denn "Sole Survivor", das die aktuelle Comeback-EP "Existence" einläutet, ist ein Ohrwurm vor dem Herrn und hat das Zeug zum Dark-Wave-Hit! Man fühlt sich direkt in die späten 80er- oder frühen 90er zurückkatapultiert, während Drumcomputer, sphärische Synthies, dezente Rhythmmus-Gitarren und die sonore, eingängige Gesangslinie den Staub der Vergangenheit neu aufwirbeln. Nachzuhören auf unserer aktuellen Zillo-CD!

Auch "Exit" klingt nostalgisch, allerdings deutlich ätherischer und Synth-Pop lastiger als der fulminante Opener. In ähnliche Gefilde entschwebt auch das spacige "Homecoming", das noch minimalistischer und entrückter wirkt. Auch schön, aber nicht in einer Liga mit "Sole Survivor" anzusiedeln.

Man kann also gespannt sein, wie Dusk To Dawn die ruhige, sphärische und die rockige Richtung auf einem möglichen kommenden Longplayer vereinen werden. Dass ein Album folgen wird, ist hoffentlich Ehrensache?"
(Zillo Magazin 03/12 über 'Existence')

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"Die Electro/Wave-Band Dusk To Dawn hatte zuletzt eine Pause eingelegt, die sich sage und schreibe 16 Jahre lang hinzog. Nun ist der verlängerte Winterschlaf jedoch beendet und das deutsche Trio hat sich im Original-Line-up wieder im Studio eingefunden – um genau dort weiterzumachen, wo es einst aufhörte. So beschert uns auch "Sole Survivor" wieder wunderbar eingängigen Dark Wave mit Retro-Charme."
(Zillo Magazin 03/12 über 'Sole Survivor')

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"Im Dezem­ber 2011 ver­öf­fent­lichte die Band ihren ers­ten neuen Song »Sole Sur­vi­vor« von der in die­sem Jahr erschei­nen­den EP »Exis­tence«. Die Band ist sich ihren Wur­zeln treu geblie­ben, obwohl bei der Instru­men­tie­rung auf die damals typi­schen melo­diö­sen Gitar­ren ver­zich­tet wurde. Für mich ist es klas­si­scher Wave mit einem leich­ten Hang zum Synthie-Pop, wobei »Pop« in die­ser Kom­bi­na­tion sicher nicht nega­tiv gemeint ist. Ein herr­lich nost­al­gi­scher Kon­tra­punkt zur aktu­el­len Tech­no­sie­rung gän­gi­ger Elektro-Formationen. Einige Lie­der erin­nern mich an Bands wie Psy­che oder auch Silke Bisch­off, die etwa zur sel­ben Zeit aktiv waren."
(Spontis.de über 'Sole Survivor' und 'Existence')

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 "I don't often dig up items from the 90s, but sometimes they're worth it. (...) This is the 2nd and last cassette released by the band. (...) These Germans make a brand of synth-driven, semi-goth rock that really appeals to me. The tracks "Fading" and "Far Places" are the standouts that I seem to keep coming back to on this particular release."
(Crispy Nuggets Blog about 'Places You Will Never See')

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"The first cassette by Dusk To Dawn, a very under-rated early 90s German band mixing wave, goth, and synth... I first heard them on some compilations through Beton Tapes and was impressed, thus was quite thankful to finally get my hands on this couple years ago."
(Kentucky Fried Wave Blog about 'Before The Eye')