INFORMATION SOCIETY - HACK

Information Society is an American synth pop group that turned up toward the late 80's when electronic music was starting to wane in popularity.  I picked up this CD at a used record store for a couple bucks.  Mostly because the only music I knew by them were the songs they'd put out on the charts.  I was curious to see what their other material might sound like.

First and foremost, let me say the tracklisting on this CD is the most confusing I've ever encountered.  Some tracks apparently have multiple names and instead of listing them with a hyphen, they list the alternate name as a .1 in the track list.  Here's an example...  

1.0 - Seek 200
2.0 - How Long
3.0 - Think
3.1 - Wenn Wellen Schwingen
4.0 - A Knife And A Fork...

So the actual title for the third track is 'Think/Wenn Wellen Schwingen'.  It's a bit lame trying to figure out which track you're listening to.

All of that aside, I like this CD...  I mean it's ok, but I don't listen to it on a regular basis.  There are a couple tracks on it I think are stellar and I sometimes include them on playlists.  The first is 'A Knife And A Fork/R.I.P.'  I'm not sure why I think this tune is so funky, but I do.  When you stick it on a playlist, it becomes a kinda quirky and different sound right between other songs.  I like the way it gives playlists an added dimension.

The other track is really love is 'Fire Tonight'.  Of all the tracks on the album, this one typifies the New Wave sound and when they write this kind of music, they actually do a great job.  I get the impression a lot of what they do is engineered toward encapsulating that growing urban sound at the time and blending it with the synth pop.  However, they're much better sticking to the traditional format for that New Wave movement.

So I'm not disappointed with this purchase, but I'm not overly proud of it either.  One thing's for sure, it's put a damper on me buying more of their material.  I'm sure at some point I'll feel inspired to check up on more of their stuff, but for now, I'll leave this one where I found it...  On my shelf.  My final words:  IF YOU WANNA CHECK THIS GROUP OUT, DON'T START WITH THIS RECORD.

INFORMATION SOCIETY - HACK
01. Seek 200
02. How Long
03. Think/Wenn Wellen Schwingen
04. A Knife And A Fork/R.I.P.
05. Now That I Have You
06. Fire Tonight
07. Can't Slow Down/T.V. Addicts
08. Hard Currency
09. Move Out/CP Drill KKL
10. Mirrorshades/We Don't Take
11. Hack 1/Charlie X
12. If Only
13. Come With Me
14. Slipping Away/Here Is Kazmeyer
15. Chemistry