SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: FRONT 242 – TWO IN ONE

FRONT 242
TWO IN ONE
ALFA MATRIX

The rerelease of Front 242’s Two In One on 12-in clear transparent vinyl (originally released in 1981 and 1982), put out on Alfa Matrix just ahead of the Belgian EBM pioneers’ final tour, delivers four tracks that are definitely recognizable as Front 242, but different enough to make them worth checking out.

Overall, this release, comprising the very first two-track singles, is composed of light, bouncy electronic beats, peppered with a great deal of audio artistry. Featuring founding members Dirk Bergen and Daniel Bressanutti, the band, as in later years, makes good use of samples.

The album opens with “Body To Body”, a track buzzing with electricity and creativity that has Front 242’s signature sound but is definitely not the “same old, same old”. Perhaps the highlight of the album, upbeat and danceable “U-men”, comes along as the third track. “Ethics” is unique in that it contains two tracks of spoken lyrics, neither of which are discernable, overlapping, and resulting in a murky product.

Having signed with Wax Trax in the early 1980’s, Front 242 definitely put the label on the map, helping to affirm it as one of the premier industrial music providers of the era, which is undeniably one of the band’s claims to fame.

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