The Fair Sex

The Dark Ages (Van Richter)
by DJ Carrion

On the heels of releasing The Invincible Sex (which is a collaboration between The Invincible Spirit and The Fair Sex) and the Thin Wall series, a collection of out-of-print classics, oddities, and rarities all released in Europe, American label Van Richter Records steps up to the plate to deliver The Dark Ages, a two-disc retrospective that spans their lucrative career.

While I’m more familiar with their newer material and floor-pounding remixes for bands like Project-X, this serves as a good introduction for those unfamiliar with their older material. On the first disc, the material seems to be a power struggle between old-fashioned EBM electronics and ’80s Goth beats and guitar with growling vocals. The style of the first disc would be the music of Sisters of Mercy with the vocals of The Eternal Afflict (who blend heavy electronics with a Goth overtone as well). “Bushman 90” captures this best.

The second disc continues where disc one left off, but with better sound quality and a change in style at about track 11, “ATR,” which has a slower beat. The Dark Ages is a fitting album title, since the majority of the material presented sounds as if it came from the ’80s, which was indeed a dark age.

Two brand new tracks, “Beautiful Nightmare: The Number One” And “Children of the Revolution,” appear unlisted, and serve as the final song for each disc.
(www.vanrichter.net)