Front 242 Album: “Geography”

This Classic remastered album is incredibly fresh and bright compared to the original! The liner notes state that it was also "slightly" remixed through modern equipment and several songs have an extra second or two that were cut from the original release. The songs sound brand new and I'm hearing lots of things I never heard before! The extra track is awesome!! And there are 3 hidden tracks; Ethics, Principles and Body to Body that are on the Sony version.

It's a little pricey since it's a European only release but worth every penny!

If you've ever owned Geography, this version is better by leaps and bounds!!

In my humble opinion, there're were 5 great electronic bands in the first years of the 80's: Kraftwerk, The Klinik, Skinny Puppy,DAF and Front 242. Kraftwerk released a wondeful LP 'Computer World', but was on their way down. DAF released some of the best EBM works ever. The Klinik was releasing very minimalistic electronic material, quite interesting but this band would later eclipse after their break-up. Skinny puppy put the ground for the darker electronic music ever known. And Front 242 was beginning to create the style later known as Electronic body Music; 'Geography' is their first LP and as almost every debut has its virtues and defficiencies; This cd contains some of the best electronic songs of that age ('U-Men', 'Operating Tracks', even the naive 'GVDT') which reminds me of what Die Krupps was also making at the time; But it contains too many instrumental songs, some of which are quite monotonous and add nothing. But 'Geography' was a touchstone, which would later develop in the typical 242 style with 'No Comment'; 'Geography' still can remind of Depeche Mode and synth-pop, but it was already clear that this band was trying to do something different, not as dark as Skinny Puppy, (and in fact they never defined themselves as dark but danceable) but obviously not Erasure or Ultravox. 'Geography' may be the worst 242 album but being the first it always occupies a space among my favourite cds.

While I know that I am in the minority here, I must say that Geography (with exception of Backcatologue) contains my favorite 242 material. This is a very sharp record. With 242's earliest work, they managed to predict what we all now know as IDM. While Geography may pale a bit when listened back to back with Richard Devine, the sounds 242 use are unmistakably similar to those employed todays most cutting edge electronic artists. The structures are interesting, and many of the beats are dislocated. A very nice ballance between vocal and instrumental tracks is found here. The songs are atmospheric and timeless. The lyrics are brilliantly existential and the sparse vocals mesh perfectly with the inorganic music. I highly recomend this cd to any Autechre fan, or anyone with an intrest in bleakness and sterility.

"Geography" is Front 242's first album, and definitely a strong debut. It's full of classic analog synth blips, buzzes and squalls, and sounds like the results of hours upon hours of tweaking these machines. Even at this point in their career, Front 242 were production perfectionists. At this point, the songs were much simpler, and percussion was fairly minimal, and generally lo-fi, hissing and static-laden. Their music was hardly danceable at this point. Sampling and vocals were not used as extensively as in later work.

Other than these stylistic differences, "Geography" is basically a typical 80's 242 album, in that it has a few longer, vocal driven singles that exemplify the sound "EBM" is commonly associated with, and then a lot of noodly instrumental tracks which some may enjoy and others may wish were left out in favor of more material similar to the singles. Other albums from this era, such as Skinny Puppy's debut "Bites", were also put together this way.

The singles on this album are all absolute classics, instantly memorable and catchy. The opener, "Operating Tracks" introduces Jean Luc de Meyer's voice in perfect fashion, and is driven by an ominous bass-line and an instantly addictive beat. It's one of the few danceable songs on Geography. "U-Men" features an atonal, fat, distorted bass hook and de Meyer's rallying cry of "I think it injust!" (a classic example of Front 242's sloganeering style). There's also "GVDT", a song reminiscent of Kraftwerk that could be accurately referred to as the only real synth pop song Front 242 ever wrote.

There are other vocal tracks on the album that are enjoyable but not quite as memorable, such as "With Your Cries" and "Least Inkling".

I'm usually a fan of the instrumentals on 242 albums, but on this album many fail to be as melodic and interesting as on later albums. Only the bubbly "Art & Strategy" and hyperactive "Geography I + II" really stand out. However, nothing on the album is boring or obviously weak.

In conclusion, "Geography" is a solid 80's Front 242 album, but not as consistent, memorable, complex or beautifully executed as say, "Official Version", which I would not hesitate to give a 5 star rating. Beginners should check out that album or "Front By Front" first if they're looking to get into 242's classic sound, but "Geography" is highly recommended if you're already a fan of Front 242. 4 stars.

This is a great CD but again you'll have to be patient with this CD . It's sounds more like Depeche Mode than what they would later do . But the songs do win you over in time except for GVDT which is immediate . You can't help but groove along to it and it's naive robotic charms . Recommended