Xerox Frequency Drive Hom-Mega (Israel)

Hom-Mega are back on track in 2002 and this is one of the nicest albums I’ve heard all summer. It’s a progressive head on fullon shoulders – smooth sounds from the prog stable are used to great effect in creating some real dancefloor killers, that keep the spirits positive and never get too dark and menacing. Science is God may be a philosophically inaccurate statement, but as a tune it’s got everything in the right place – good lines, nice noises, plenty of energy for everyone, some dangerously sweet high-end melodies, a huge and only slightly cheesy breakdown and a rampant Israeli final run. Adrenalin Rush is deeper, with a delectable 16th bass and huge noises across the top. Daft guitar makes for an effective couple of breaks, and it’s pure psychedelic madness all the way, tighter than a mosquito’s sphincter and gets you in the head and feet like it should. The title track is a brooder, deeply-set for those moments when it’s getting dark and hot on the dancefloor… chunky, tight and juicy. Time Code features sci-fi atmospheric stabs and neatly-building percussion, glassy synth lines, plenty of analog snarls, while Euro-Fresh has a shuffley, bum-wiggle vibe with loads of daft sound effects and psychedelic twist aplenty. Cosmic is, as the name suggests, a rather spacey tune with roots firmly in the oldskool, warm sounds over energetic rhythm section, snare rolls and videogame synths. Fanatical Clubbers is class – written with the dancefloor firmly in the front of its mind, it’s got a huge buildup that gives way to a chummy rolling bass. The intensity gathers to a huge 1996 breakdown that leads into an explosive, fresh final section which will have you jumping three feet off the ground. Crossing over takes a semi-Logic Bomb sound and makes the melody rise and rise. A bit cheesy maybe, but it holds its own and has enough new punches to keep the interest up. In And Out brings the album to a close, and if you can get past the rather nasty female vocal sample, it’s a nice and acidy Tim Leary-sampling pulse-raiser. Nothing hugely new on this, but it’s a fresh slant on the fullon style. The tunes move with good, positive progression and while the occasionally-cheesy melodies are liable to clear the dancefloor as many times as they devastate it, this is sound stuff and deserves a place in any collection.