Helvissa describe their music as "the sound of seedy seaside towns and cheap caffs". This is a revealing description since their minimalist synth pop is comparable to a group from Blackpool, Section 25. Indeed, even down to the bleak and tinny production values, Helvissa are a throwback to obscure Factory Records acts. The female vocals are distant in more ways than one; almost as if someone had set the tape deck to record whilst the Ladytron vocalists tune up in an adjoining studio. Melodies from Depeche Mode's 'I Just Can't Get Enough' and Jan Hammer's 'Crockett's Theme' are cheekily borrowed for 'Regret' and 'Motorway' respectively (the latter itself is surely a tribute to Kraftwerk's 'Autobahn'). With such flagrant reuse of others' material it's a miracle that Helvissa have produced anything worthwhile in their own ideas, yet these austere songs sustain a level of eeriness which just about make 'Cheap Eyeliner' oddly attractive.
Helvissa describe their music as "the sound of seedy seaside towns and cheap caffs". This is a revealing description since their minimalist synth pop is comparable to a group from Blackpool, Section 25. Indeed, even down to the bleak and tinny production values, Helvissa are a throwback to obscure Factory Records acts. The female vocals are distant in more ways than one; almost as if someone had set the tape deck to record whilst the Ladytron vocalists tune up in an adjoining studio. Melodies from Depeche Mode's 'I Just Can't Get Enough' and Jan Hammer's 'Crockett's Theme' are cheekily borrowed for 'Regret' and 'Motorway' respectively (the latter itself is surely a tribute to Kraftwerk's 'Autobahn'). With such flagrant reuse of others' material it's a miracle that Helvissa have produced anything worthwhile in their own ideas, yet these austere songs sustain a level of eeriness which just about make 'Cheap Eyeliner' oddly attractive.
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