Dedicated Hardware - Energy Transformation Process

An introduction, for surely most of you won't know this project. Dedicated Hardware hails from Portland, Oregon and is the sole project of Sean Barrett. His entire portfolio has eluded me since the 2007 inception, and despite being a self-labelled Electro Industrial act, i'm surprised, as for the first time his list of 'artists I sound like' is exclusively full of unknown names.

The first track, 'Big Air Pig' has Front Line Assembly written all over it. Sean's vocals are a bit harsher, and the production, as you'd expect, lacks a sheen and polish. It recalls some of Front 242's later work, and has a hint of something to it when the main section of the track kicks in that makes you beam with anticipation.

Oddly-titled 'Her Beautys Caught In My Flywheel' furthers the old school EBM feel, and although this may be streets behind the overall quality of the bigger names, this isn't far off in substance and content. I'm finding it hard at times to actually not notice a similarity to Front 242. It doesn't' feel like it's forced either - no imitations here.

It's quite an unethical release - tracks three and four sound a bit more like the early days of Dark Electro - think Page 12 and early :Wumpscut: and you'll have a rough feel as to how this sounds.

'More than A Sound Bite' is significantly more 'Industrial' than the previous tracks, and it's one of those that would sound brilliant in my cars soundsystem (I have a 2001 Ford "Ka" Hatchback, which to those in the know is a tiny bubble of a car with massive surround sound). My PC set up isn't that great, and it often requires the use of headphones or quality production to get the most out of a track.

There's a total of Eleven tracks on ETP, and although none of them can jump out and say "pick me! pick me!", none of them are weak, either. It's a bit of a difficult album to truly pick critique with, but on the strength of the material here, with better production, Dedicated Hardware is signable and marketable. I can think of two labels alone that work with this sound - both of which thrive on enthusiasm and talent. Sean has both, even if you need a trip down the highway to find them. Any excuse? Jun 05 2012