Mechanical Cabaret

"Disco Vandalism" (Album, 2011) !DSO Recommended!

Major Records

Remixes have always been a strong suit of Mechanical Cabaret - whether that be commissioned or self-produced. Only my previous MC review expoused the virtues. It is entirely logical then that for their next long-player Roi Robertson and Steve Bellamy chose to release a remix album. Ever since Mechanical Cabaret expanded from essentially a Robertson solo outfit, to take on board musical polymath Bellamy, the transcendent potential was immediately apparent. If, like me, you’d wondered what those older, rougher, scabbier songs would sound like through a contemporary perspective then you, my friend, have just hit Mechanical Cabaret manna. 

The remixes included are no mere cosmetic re-workings, this is full-on re-constructive surgery. But unlike Pete Burns, the transformation is more like that from pupae to butterfly - into a thing of beauty – thirteen times over. To work through each of the entries would take a very long time and end up being something more like an essay than a review, so I'll keep this brief. It Will All Come Back 2 U is a powerfully angry and poignant transformation. It both starts and ends in glorious fashion, but the middle section that redoes the pivotal “Planting a bomb in a gay pub in London” lyrics seethes with vitriol but channels that negative energy into a moving and fitting tribute to those lost in the blast-damaged Admiral Duncan public house. 

Rare for an album with this amount of guest remixes, the quality threshold is uncommonly high. The selection for inclusion is choice right across the board, meaning there are no duds. Even the titles in themselves are works of art, perfectly reflecting the Mechanical Cabaret view of the world around us all. 

In the sphere of the major labels, remix albums are often a lazy piece of marketing, designed to cynically extract additional money from the hands of faithful fans and serving them up transient, sub-par material in exchange. Disco Vandalism couldn’t be further from that. It single-handedly re-writes the rule book on remix albums, making it not only a worthy entry into the expanding Mechanical Cabaret canon, but an essential purchase in its own right. Simply delightful.  8/10

Rob Dyer (March 2012)

"Ne Plus Ultra" (Single, 2010) !DSO Recommended!

Major Records

Somebody at Major Records must love Mechanical Cabaret almost as much as I do. This is the second digital single released in recent months by the label from Roi Robertson’s third (and so far best) album Damaged Goods. The six-track EP leads with the already memorable Ne Plus Ultra a wise choice for a single. One’s appreciation for which has only been boosted in the past year by some cracking live renditions. This is fantastic and easily the best single Mechanical Cabaret have released to date.

The various versions of the title track are all top notch, reminding me of those classic Depeche Mode 12” Mute released back in the late 1980s early 90s with diverse and inspired interpretations either by the Essex boys themselves or guest remixers. Kunt and the Gang’s insanely plinky plonky Castlemayne Remix of Pretty Fucked Up with its added squeaky voice asking “Will you help me spunk up? Chicken oriental.” (I kid you not!) just has to be heard to be believed. Robertson’s own Exquisitely Extended Mix of Ne Plus Ultra is accurately labelled being one of those longer remixes sounding so natural that you forget how the album version could be shorter and still be as good. Finally, there’s the out there Lowpulse Rework and its even more successful instrumental counterpart the thrillingly experimental Lowpulse Rework Dub – just superb.

Then there’s a sublime cover of (live favourite) Fun Boy Three’s The Lunatics Have Taken Over The Asylum which, for my money is actually better than the original. Roi’s uncannily Terry Hall-like vocals are spot-on and the tweaked music is ingenious. Exhilarating stuff thoroughly recommended to fans and newcomers alike. If you still haven’t purchased a Mechanical Cabaret release and have been toying with doing so, this is the ideal place to begin your adventure. 8/10

Rob Dyer (December 2010)

"Careful Careless" (Single, 2010)

Major Records

Sadly, this latest single from the increasingly wonderful Mechanical Cabaret is only available as a digital download. I say ‘sadly’, because although digital music is as legitimate as that fixed in a physical form (e.g. vinyl or compact disc), it does seem to be more disposable, transient, even throwaway when you can only get hold of it by logging on. This often doesn’t actually matter, as the overwhelming majority of digital only music is rubbish. However, this six-track single (in spite of the decidedly cheap and rushed-looking ‘cover’ art) is rather good and I’d quite like to have the satisfaction of being able to place a CD alongside all the previous Mechanical Cabaret releases.

In among the remixes is the vocal and piano only GBH (Melodramatic Version). Not since the untitled hidden track on the 2005 Cheap and Nasty single has MC delivered such a beautiful work and only begs the question why won’t Roi Robertson enable his followers to hear a collection of minimalist versions, instead of teasing us so temptingly every few years? Roi, please seriously consider this. Major records, back Roi’s talents on this idea and release it physically. 7/10

Rob Dyer (October 2010)

"Damaged Goods" (Album, 2009) !DSO Recommended!

Major Records

I can't tell you just how excited I was upon hearing Mechanical Cabaret's third album. I've always had an unclear but deep connection with Roi Robertson's alter ego project and found much to like in the 2002 debut We Have An Agenda and its follow-up Product For Your Insecurity. After both of those, Robertson faced a major artistic challenge - did he have the muster to take his talents onto the next level and really deliver on the promise he's clearly shown so far; or was my faith misguided and Mechanical Cabaret destined to a workmanlike circuit of London club nights and cult-only following? It's with a heady mixture of elation and relief that Damaged Goods confirms the first of the two postulations was correct. One can now just recommend an album to anyone with a taste for the sardonic, darker side of life.

Having replaced the modern instrumentation with a raft of analogue synths, a short-wave radio, and other more old-school paraphernalia was the first inspired step forward. Then ratchet up the hard work on the songwriting side using ambition and risk, and combine those with a voice that has now reached a whole new standard and a potentially potent mix is achieved. On Only Ever Now we get to hear just how far Robertson has come in terms of vocal agility and delivery. Suddenly the similarities with Depeche Mode's Martin Gore are startling. Think I Want You Now from the Mode's classic 1998 album Music For The Masses and you won't be far off. There's the deranged hurdy gurdy stomp of Tabloid Species, the early Front 242 melody of Lost And Found, and the satisfying wordsmithing on Ne Plus Ultra and more. Lyrically this is undoubtedly the best we've yet heard - what was at times unsubtle has matured into a more biting delivery.

The thumping bass synths and cracking higher melodies have all the qualities of early Mute 7" but there is a weightier sound to many of the tracks, and although the compositions are universally more mature and complex this is never at the expense of the characteristic Mechanical Cabaret style or wit. More than anything though, this time it's how Robertson has brought together all the skills necessary to produce a work that really stands up to detailed scrutiny. (One suspects a proud Fad Gadget is looking down on Robertson with knowing affection.) There's still room for further development, but until the next time, this will do very nicely thank you. 8/10

Rob Dyer (May 2009)

"Product For Your Insecurity" (Album, 2006)

Soiled Records

I have an irrepressible liking for Mechanical Cabaret's Roi Robertson. He often appears as a parallel universe version of myself. Sort of what I might have been if only circumstances had taken a fateful different tangent at some point. That's the only way I can explain how his songwriting gets inside my head the way it does. Even from his Nekromantik days I picked up on his unique combination of styles and influences. The resulting sound occupies a peculiar space between real darkness and emotion crushing despair and a joy for life and optimism that suggests no boundaries. It can be a slightly schizophrenic affair.

This duality is ever more present in Mechanical Cabaret's work and this second album showcases that spectrum in exciting style. The album balances dancefloor stompers like Blank Canvas with more reflective pieces like It Will All Come Back To You; and whilst the balance is often a little too uneasy it does mean there's plenty of unpredictable variety. Lyrically, this is as witty, wry and poetic as ever; Robertson just gets better and better on that front. Steve (Greenhaus) Bellamy's co-production on Disbehave bears the distinctive touch of his main project, whilst reworked, stronger versions of the last A-A side single tracks Cheap and Nasty and See Her Smile both get a reprise here, but already they feel quite distant from some of the newer material.

Songs like the clever John Barry-isms of Don't Murder Me I'm Drowning and the brilliant, exhilirating Each Day You Die A Little Bit More convincingly rise above expectations, firmly establishing Robertson as a thrilling and passionate songwriter with a range beyond the reach of many of his contemporaries. They prove there's a lot more to Mechanical Cabaret than immediately meets the eye. If the style could be honed more towards these two songs then this would be unreservedly essential (and could see Robertson's star really rocket). 7/10

Rob Dyer (July 2006)

"Cheap and Nasty/See Her Smile" (Maxi Single, 2005)

Umami

It's been three years since Mechanical Cabaret's sleazy debut album We Have an Agenda. Three long years. Thankfully, the wait for more material is over with the release of this terrific six-track maxi single.

The basic electronics return but the production has certainly improved in the intervening years. There are two versions of the two title tracks and, unusually, the extended versions are as good as if not better than the original shorter cuts. Proving that there's more than meets the eye to their writing ability, Nothing In Life That's Worth Having Will Not Be Taken Away sounds vaguely like Babyland but the Mecab trademark theatricality remains distinctive throughout. Whilst the euphoric Berliner Mix of Siegessaule is tailor made for some dark and dingy Berlin dive. Oh yeah, and you must let that track six run for while after its finished. If you do you'll be treated to a hidden desert: the most wonderful and heart-rending piece of music Mechanical Cabaret have ever written. Imagine Danny Elfman's score for Tim Burton's Edward Scissorhands, feel the lump rise in your throat and the tears well up in your eyes. Beautiful. 7/10

Rob Dyer (April 2005)

"We Have An Agenda" (Album, 2002)

Soiled Records

Take a dash of Punk ethic, chuck in a substantial measure of odd pop glamour, a sprinkling of bleeping electronics and shake vigorously in the style of the late Fad Gadget and the resulting saucy cocktail is called Mechanical Cabaret. Based around singer, songwriter (and former Nekromantik member) Roi and accompanied by percussionist and bleep controller Tobi, and stained panties image maker Bruce, Mechanical Cabaret are not the ideal first date to take home to meet your Mum.

Roi's south London delivery gives the brilliant lyrics a heartfelt and honest personal dimension that transcends cliche and predictability and results instead in some of the finest gender-bending dark pop the planet has seen in years. Unlike so many that take to music these days simply because they've got an ego and some equipment through which they inflict it on an unsuspecting public, Mechanical Cabaret has, as the title to this debut album suggests, something worth saying. What's more, they deliver it with a blend of brutally frank and decidedly English black humour that (despite passing similarities to early Soft Cell) sets this apart from any potential contenders.

Sometimes unnerving, this experience staggers from simple dancefloor fillers to more contemplative ballads. The more enterprising stuff tends to appear in the slower tracks like Horripilations, yet the superb melody line found on Devoid recalls those moving instrumentals of early Depeche Mode, whilst Mein Fuhrer and Sterili Zed are influenced by EBM, and Let's Have Some Fun chucks in a "You're gonna get your fuckin' head kicked in." Quadrophenia sample into a song that sounds like an outtake from the heavy side of Ministry's Twitch album. The sinister fairground whirlings of Meat Closet and the brilliant A Slapdash Affair are simultaneously evocative and affecting; and the stunning opening twenty seconds of Is Normal Abnormal prove that there is still plenty to get excited about in English electronic music.

The entire thing is done with (deliberately) rudimentary sounding but effective electronics that not only suit the sensibilities at work but seem entirely appropriate for an album shot through with British electronic music history whilst simultaneously and ingeniously injecting a contemporary experimentalism. The deeper, more serious currents, both musically and conceptually, are especially inventive and rewarding and what really define this album. Though I suspect many will simply take We Have An Agenda on face value which would be a shame. Delightfully tasteful artwork too. An exciting and intelligent, talent-driven debut that should, if there is any adventurous taste left amongst the buying public, put Mechanical Cabaret distinctively on the world musical map. I look forward to wearing the distasteful merchandise that I hope is due to follow. 7/10

Rob Dyer

Official Mechanical Cabaret website: http://www.mechanicalcabaret.com