Trans X - Message on the Radio

Name: Trans X

Album: Message on the Radio

Year:1983

Style: Dance, Electronic, New Wave, Synth Pop

Similar Bands: New Order, Sparks, OMD, Lime, Devo, Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream, Crash Course in Science

One Word Review: Nonstop Dancing Futureistic Computers

Based Out Of: Montreal, Ca

Label: Matra

 Message on the Radio - Cover, Record

Message on the Radio - Back, Record

Message on the Radio (1983)

1. 3-D Dance 5:53
2. Nitelife 7:15
3. 21st Century 5:29 /
4. Living on Video 5:52
5. Message on the Radio 5:10
6. Josee 5:46
7. Digital World 3:34

Album Rating: 9.0

Members & Other Bands:
`Pascal Languirand - Vox, All Instruments
`Anne Brosseau - Additional Personnel
`Chiffon - Additional Personnel
`Liz Tansey - Additional Personnel
`Linda Benoy - Additional Personnel
`Ian Lebofsky - Additional Personnel
`Steve Wyatt - Keys, Programming,
Laurie Ann Gill - Vox (Nudimension)
`Christian Traut - Art Direction
`Carmine Nicodemo - Exec Producer
`Dominique Nicodemo - Exec Producer
`Claude Allard - Mixing, Engineer
`Carole Arsenaul - Hair
`Daniel Poulin - Photography
`Michel Cloutier - Asst. Photography
`Lisa Fizzano - Make-Up
`Daniel Bernier - Prodcer
`Pierre Bernard - Programming
`Gaetan Desbiens - Recording
`Pierre Lacoste - Percussion, Drums (Isinglass)
`Guy Abrassart - Guitar

Unknown-ness: I've never heard of this band. But it looks like they are Canadian, which really does not mean anything for the style of music the album may contain. I like the angular basic shape artwork on the front, and the back looks like it might have disco elements. But from the album and band name, there might be some electronic elements.

Album Review: Apparently, this is the Canadian version of the album, as other versions around the world were retitled Living on Video, since it was the big international hit, even covered by many different bands. Pascal Languirand is the main force behind the band, controlling who is his partner, and deciding when the band is together and when it is on hiatus. The name is taken from the Kraftwerk song “Trans Europe Express.” There are two classic albums, before he retired the band, but picked it up at different times to release more albums under the name. He also recorded solo albums that are more ambient, space music in genre. I’m imagining Sparks and OMD teaming up to cover New Order songs.

“3-D Dance” was the third single released by the band. It starts with a synthesized drum beat. Swooping synth effects fly across the speakers and a fun bouncy synth hook starts wiggling into your ears. It is dotted with OMD style synth notes. The vocals start, and represent part disco, and part Sparks. The bass is driving and thumping, augmented by the nervous keyboard sounds and pulsing synth beats. There are female vocals exchanging lines in the first verse, and in the second verse, digitized, deep monster vocals exchange lines with the lead. The song is like a sped up, energetic version of Men W/O Hat’s “Safety Dance.”

“Nitelife” begins with a dark, rumbling warning synth hook, reminding me of Crash Course in Science. Then a keyboard alarming sound is added in, which reminds me of Martha & the Muffins. The effects keep changing, and get squeaker and catchier. The chorus is a call in response with the singer and himself, only a slightly deeper pitch echos the original, Devo-ish call. Synth effects zig and zag, creating a little jazzy section of the song, all the while the drums and dark bass synth keep the tempo driving. It keeps coming back to the familiar elements that are laid down in the beginning, just in continuous variation. By the end of the song, the alarming keyboard sound warbles from left to right speaker.

“21st Century” begins with a somewhat disco bass and hand clap-like percussion start. Then with a genuine OMD twinkling keyboard melody, the upbeat song takes shape. Crystalline/angelic hums fade in and out on rotation. The vocals sound quite excitable. The song follows on this Sparks (vocal melodies) plays an OMD style song. It tends to get a little tedious in its repetitive structure.

“Living on Video” was their first, biggest single, covered by many and topping the charts in the US and Europe on top of Canada. It starts off with a strong “Blue Monday” New Order bass line, with crystal synth twinkles and space warp effects. Then another OMD keyboard hook builds in to repeat, and the final hook is added, a synthetic slide whistle is the best way to describe it. The vocals are all quite calculated, and some are digitized and some have an alluring unisex tone. Once the song breaks, the New Order bass line comes into full swing, and it is wonderful. More space and digital effects are layered over, along with vocal (some like Ladytron) cruising by. The song tears itself down, and builds itself back up numerous times, and keeps coming back to the incredibly catchy elements.

“Message on the Radio” was also a single, and the album title for most of the world. Different styles of digital hooks are used here, again, bringing OMD to mind, mostly. The vocals again remind me of Sparks. The song is built on a standard template of lyric-instrumental stanza on repeat until it reaches the chorus. The chorus is a burst of excitable vocal energy. Halfway through the song, an instrumental breakdown begins, with some sections experiencing a controlled breakdown, but it always comes back to the main supportive hooks. The song fades out with the energetic chorus in a fade.

“Josee” starts with a bass and drum beat, and breathy, futuristic automated female vocal samples. The song kicks in with another playful and upbeat OMD style synth line. The lyrics have a big emotional exertion, again, similar to Sparks. Once you make a connection, it is hard to shake it. The song sonds like a reprise on a couple of songs that came before it. The breathy vocals play a much bigger role here, for an instrumental breakdown, they speak over in a French(?) accent, like they are speaking over a phone call. There is a bit of an industrial effect breakdown, and some soaring electric guitar notes, and the male Oh-whoa-oh-oh vocals perform a call and response with the female vocals. The song returns to its previous structure, and plays out with the bouncy synth effects carrying it through to the fade out

“Digital World” has an anxious looping keyboard hook, accompanied with a drum machine tempo that is steady feels like it is about to pick up. Drive-by zooming synth effects lift off, and the song takes a leisurely futuristic drive, with a few vocal samples that cruise by, lost in the song’s momentum. This instrumental song continues with the nervous, driving synth tones, allowing the listener to visualize passing through art deco-futuristic city-scapes. It feels like I should be playing a game like Stun Runner. 

Stand Out Track: Living on Video

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Lime - 3

Name: Lime
Album: 3
Year: 1983
Style: Disco / Synth
Similar Bands: Chromeo, Hail Social, Pet Shop Boys, Erasure, New Order, Animotion
"One-Word" Review: Cold Disco
Based Out Of: Montreal, Canada
Label: Matra Records, Downstairs Records

3 - Cover & Record

3 Back & Record

3 (1983)

1. Guilty 7:01
2. Angel Eyes 7:40
3. On The Grid 4:00 /
4. Give Me Your Body 7:15
5. Together 6:53
6. Rendezvous on the Dark Side of the Moon 8:01

Album Rating (1-10): 8.5

Members & Other bands:Denis Le Page - Vocals, Producer, Programming, Mixing
Denis Le Page - Vocals, Producer, Mixing, Programming, Synth
Denyse LePage - Vox
Joy Dorris - Performance Singer
Chris Marsh - Performance Singer
Studio Graffiti - Cover Concept
Claude Allard - Engineer
George Cucuzzella - Executive Producer, Mixing
Joe La Greca - Executive Producer
Joe Tortorici - Executive Producer
Michael Simard - Mixing
John Moralis - Mixing
Sergio Munzibai - Mixing
John Moralis - Mixing

Unknown-ness: I’ve never heard of this band, but man, do I love the artwork. It is so neon and futuristic, yet dated to the 80’s like space age furniture is dated to the 50’s. I can only imagine the genre is disco, as there are only 6 tracks, all 4 to 8 minutes long. But with artwork like this, it is too hard to pass up seeing what is inside.

Album Review: “Guilty” begins with a cold synth piano and is backed up, one instrument at a time, with a Pet Shop Boys bass beat, and a variety of icy synth video-game-ish sound effects. Finally a new order style drum beat is mixed in and the song kicks off. The vocals remind me of what I’d imagine Divine would sound like singing disco (actually I have a Divine CD at home, I’ll have to listen to it and compare). It is raspy, yet bold. It contains many layers of hooks, from the vocal melody, the bouncing synthesizers in the background, and the crystalline keyboard effects. The individual components of the song have merit, but when they are all mixed together, they become something much more superficial sounding. The cycle of the verse-chorus is long, so as the song is over seven minutes long, it does not feel long, since it is not overly repetitive. Except for maybe the chorus repetition at the end, that finally finishes in a fade out.
“Angel Eyes” was apparently their big hit. And for good reason. It continues with the synthetic two beat drum kit effect throughout the song, and it introduces all the effects and melodies that it uses in the song at the beginning. This song sounds just like Chromeo. This song is even colder and calculated, with the vocals in the verse feeling very computerized. There is an emotional breakout of female and male vocals over the chorus singing “hold me and love me baby.” But for the most part, the vocals are just a rhythm adding to the tight and fun disco dance song. There is an instrumental section that reminds me a bit of the breakdown in “Axel F.” Again, the cycle of the song is long, with drawn out musical sections, which retains the fresh feel, without being too repetitive. The song could have ended around 6 minutes, but they chose to continue with very New Order sounding cold synth, and a final return of the chorus to finish out the song.
“On The Grid” feels like more Russian techno, with a dark, yet aggressive edge at the beginning. But the vocals are more like Sugar Hill Gang talk-sing rapping. There is a lot of use of computerized vocals repeatedly saying “on the grid.” The song is not very dimensional, as in it picks a beat and a steady drive, and goes with it, never diverting.

“Give Me Your Body” starts off in a positive mood, not nearly as cold as the first side of the album, with a very Erasure style of keyboards, even if the beat is not quite as dense as their style. And the vocals are shared between a minimal, quiet verse, and a high pitched, computer aided female chorus that floats up and over on a steady, beat filled melody. The style of synth that is used here also reminds me of 70’s AOR music. The song itself does not go very far, unfortunately. It settles in on its wispy, light rock vibe and steady medium paced beat.
“Together” gets itself going with what feels like is going to be the Animotion song “Obsession,” with driving beat and oscillating synthetic vibration. This sounds the closest to Disco as the album gets. But this also sounds a lot like Hail Social to me. Perhaps it is the echoing computerized voice that follows the lead in the chorus. But the disco element is supported in the twinkling bell and echoing laser blast effects that are used in many post Star Wars disco songs. The keyboard in the background in the middle of the song sounds exactly like the melody of the chorus in the Box Top’s “The Letter.”
“Rendezvous on the Dark Side of the Moon” is a mostly instrumental and very computer generated song, starting out with what sounds of a heartbeat for the first 50 seconds. It then takes a progressive turn, and with computer vocals counting down. It is an even darker and frozen soundscape than the rest of the album put together. It feels like it could be in the film Labyrinth or during the horrors of the Ice Palace collapsing in the Never Ending Story. It also sounds a bit like the band The Ghostwriters, previously reviewed. The very end of the song sounds like the very beginning of Danny Elfman’s “The Forbidden Zone”

Stand Out Track: Angel Eyes

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