I:Scintilla and Zombie Girl

A double header this month! MySpace is full of bands seeking an audience, but these are two released on the Alfa Matrix label who have impressed me. I:Scintilla Optics is the first label album from the Chicago quartet, formed in 2003, and it shows plenty of promise. While underpinned by a dancefloor beat, drums supplemented by synths, the album has some striking qualities that help it rise from the morass of similar pop-electronica outfits littering the internet. For starters, frontwoman Brittany Bindrim, although sometimes sounding as though she's reaching for the higher notes, carries enough authority to match the catchy arrangements. Thankfully, most of the 12 tracks have their own identity, with lyrics stretching further than the latest heartbreak. With enough vagueness to keep the listener questioning, the songs cover a range of themes: Cursive Eve lends itself to a feminist reading on the blame game of original sin; Toy Soldier is a peace anthem; Melt draws on tarot and tattoo imagery for its love story. Translate is a pop ballad with guitars to the fore, allowing Bindrim to show some vocal flexibility for which there is little room in the techno-oriented tracks. By contrast, Scin -- a slap in the face for the self-pitying -- turns up the industrial guitar attitude, though the drums still wallow in techno land as the synths take up the slack. Silhouette throws a thoughtful instrumental into the mix, sounding as though it might have been lifted from a ghost movie. The album ends with the industrial guitar and drums of Salt of Stone, closing off a versatile outing that leaves the listener wondering where the band will go from here. Other than up; that's a given. Zombie Girl Zombie Girl is the brainchild -- chortle -- of Canada-based Sebastian R Komor (Icon of Coil) and his wife, Renee, who we suspect grew up on The Twilight Zone and George Romero movies. On Blood, Brains and Rock 'n' Roll, they show a fine talent for putting together boot-scootin', head-bangin' dance tracks with a pop sensibility. For the most part, they manage to avoid the sameness that can infect albums aimed at the dancefloor -- that groove can be zombifying. With a deft use of heavy bass to set the tone and some crafty construction, they have created an invigorating, fun release replete with theremin-like sounds to conjure a suitably B-grade feel. There's even oompah on whimsical instrumental Dance of the Headless Corpse, possibly at home on a Dario Argento movie. Renee fleshes out the lyrics and adds some rather fetching vocals to add lustre to the tunes. It's tongue-in-cheek good fun, with lashings of zombie humour: ``Remove the head, destroy the brain'' she intones on infectious party anthem Go Zombie. The beat outlives its welcome over the length of the album's 13 tracks (of course, there had to be 13!), but with highlights like Living Dead Superstars and the pathos-oozing, sexy Creature of the Night, the album achieves its purpose. Guaranteed to get the heart beating! I:Scintilla on MySpace Zombie Girl on MySpace