The Neon Judgement – Blue Screens 1995-2009 (Album – Je M’En Fish)
Genre/Influences: Cold-Wave, Dark-Wave, Electro.
Format: Digital, Vinyl.
Background/Info: No need to introduce The Neon Judgement belonging to the collective memory of 80s Cold-Wave/EBM fans. Their biggest hits were released in the 80s. This album is a fine selection from tracks originally released in between 1995 and 2009. It features songs from three albums that were released on different labels during the post-Play It Again Sam (PIAS)-era. We get ten songs from the albums “At Devil’s Fork” (1995, Synthetic Symphony), “Dazsoo” (1998, KK Records) and “Smack” (2009, LC Music). These songs have been re-mastered and for the very first time released on vinyl format.
Content: This work is an opportunity to (re)-discover ‘late’ stuff from The Neon Judgement, the band having definitely taken some distance with their early, 80s, sound and becoming more open-minded, like experimenting with new genres and influences. But in the end that’s what the Belgian masters always did. The songs are still driven by icy synths but mixing Minimal-Electro together with Funky vibes, Dance tunes and Technoid influences and even Dubby elements.
+ + + : This selection of tracks aren’t the best exposure from this legendary formation although you easily recognize the Neon Judgement-touch in the icy leads/synths, the vocals and the open-minded style. It was really fun rediscovering “Serve” which evokes to me the Electronic version of Public Enemy but also the Dub vibes emerging at “Turki”. I also like “Shiny Happiness” and the more renowned “The Great Consumer” for the excellent synth lines.
– – – : “TV Treated” remains one of my all-time favorites from the band and 80s Electro-Wave music but the remix/edit from 1995 featured at this album is a true antithesis to the original version.
![Universal Music Group (UMG) has now acquired 100% of [PIAS]](https://www.side-line.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Image-30.jpg)
Conclusion: A cool record for the band’s die-hard fans.
Best songs: “Serve”, “The Great Consumer”, “Turki”, “Shiny Happiness”, “We Are Confused”.
Rate: 7½.
Artist:www.theneonjudgement.com / www.facebook.com/TheNeonJudgeMent
Label: www.facebook.com/JemenfishBE
Since you’re here …
… we have a small favour to ask. More people are reading Side-Line Magazine than ever but advertising revenues across the media are falling fast. Unlike many news organisations, we haven’t put up a paywall – we want to keep our journalism as open as we can - and we refuse to add annoying advertising. So you can see why we need to ask for your help.
Side-Line’s independent journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. But we do it because we want to push the artists we like and who are equally fighting to survive.
If everyone who reads our reporting, who likes it, helps fund it, our future would be much more secure. For as little as 5 US$, you can support Side-Line Magazine – and it only takes a minute. Thank you.
The donations are safely powered by Paypal.
