Last year, I reviewed the demo New Devotion by Paradoxx. This year, having received the completed project, I was not really sure what to expect. I loved the original samples, but what of the rest? Well, in short the completed album is a dance music masterpiece! From start to finish, you'll find yourself involuntarily moving to the electronic-based euro gothic dance tracks.

     The last time I reviewed Paradoxx's work, I found myself speeding along the highway in tune to the music exploding from my tape deck. Thank goodness I don't have a CD player in my car! The completed version is just THAT good! Lead vocalist, Lissa's, voice is hauntingly beautiful. Back-up singer, Jessica, is no slouch in the talent department herself and neither is Ralph, whose voice is reminiscent of that of the Human League's lead singer.

     The album contains 11 regular tracks and 4 bonus tracks, plus one hidden track. The regular tracks are a mix of small two-minute interludes and lengthier dance tracks, including Romantic, Submission, Strange Love, Retro'bution, New Devotion, Sequence of Events, Ultraviolet, In My Dream, and Doxology. Even the introduction track is excellent, blending a gothic sound with the entrancing vocals provided by Lissa. The bonus tracks are remixes of Romantic (a song I can't seem to get out of my head, by the way), Submission, and Ultraviolet. That takes me to the hidden track, a special remixed version of Romantic - a remix with which my only criticism lies. The beat is excellent, but the remixed lyrics leave mush to be desired. Romantic is my favorite song on the album and I thoroughly enjoyed the bonus track remixes, but this hidden track remix has too much going on in the vocals department. The vocals are so mixed into each other and distorted that they become confusing and slightly annoying, taking away from the groove of the beat. This would have been one track I would have left out of the mix, but the rest of the album more than makes up for it.

     New Devotion is filled with tracks that any dance club would be happy to include in its DJs' repertoire. Beats that make the body move. Lyrics that are so catchy you find yourself singing them long after the music is done. Hailing from Perth, Australia, Paradoxx has recently informed me that they have been signed to a New York City label, Tonedeaf Records. Paradoxx is currently working on an album that will be "more nu/electro vibe". Lots of luck to you, Paradoxx! I can't wait to hear the next album…seriously, you are gonna send me the next album for review, right?

     Send your comments and or questions about this article to wildkarrde3@hotmail.com.

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