Originally an EP before re-release as an album-length collection thanks to a slew of bonus tracks, Cyanide Sisters finds
Com Truise making a kind of heavy, moody '80s electronic dance -- and that's less retro than might be thought. Instead of the party-hearty impulses of
Justice or what became American dubstep,
Com Truise's instrumental creations are slower-paced, geared toward moodiness that feels like an endless jumble of signifiers -- AOR pomp into teen melodrama into elegant proto-industrial stomp. Songs like "Sundriped," with its sweet synth bursts of shimmering echoes over indrawn android breaths and
New Order-ish bass, and "Iwywaw," scraps of spoken word sound echoing amidst a clattering beat and a quietly anthemic melody, are all wonderful, very tactile listening experiences in their impact. The downside is the fairly one-note feel -- having established the basic approach early in the release, little variety follows, however wonderful each song sounds in isolation. It's a strong starting point regardless, at once something seemingly perfectly obvious and, in practice, requiring someone actually to put in the effort to make it all work. ~ Ned Raggett