David Turpin: Haunted! album review for Connected

With the growth in popularity continuing steadily, electronic music and its vast sub genres are getting a longer wave than anticipated. This is also giving opportunities for new acts to emerge in a still commercially successful category. David Turpin is one such act, releasing his debut album Haunted into a genre that never seems to end. But that doesn’t mean any old thing will be accepted. And that’s just the problem. With the Pop side of electronic music being controlled by the likes of LeRoux, It is hard to think of any similar music being anything more than a below par imitation. Now maybe that would be considered music snobbery, but in David Turpin’s case, regardless of why it is judged so, Haunted is definitely below par. The album seems to be caught in two minds, a comparative to 808’s on the production side but with a lot less effort, the vocals are something not quite adhesive enough. Not wanting to sound too cruel, but at times the album is so insipid it could have been released by on of the members of N*Sync nobody knows the name of. The stand out track is most definitely Dorothy Gale, but is the only one worth mentioning as this record never takes off or captures enough interest to give it a second listen. A feeble attempt. 2/5

CODES: TreesDreamInAlgebra Album Review for Connected

Codes’ heavily anticipated debut album has finally reached our ears, and to already welcoming acclaim. But is this just another case of mediocrity shrouded in patriotism? Just once I would like some real quality to emerge and prove that this country can still produce great modern music.
There is a possibility that the aforementioned time has come in the form of Trees Dream In Algebra. CODES define themselves as alt/electronic, but I for one found it quite difficult to define such a unique sound. The album bounces from melodic, soothing tone to an anthemic, almost overwhelming character. How does this work together? Surprisingly well in fact, and its ability to keep you intrigued throughout is another positive note for arguably one of the best debut albums from an Irish band in recent years. With the power this record projects, I can honestly expect CODES to be selling out the larger venues in years to come. What it all comes down to is this; CODES have released a debut album worthy of such acclaim – a beautifully subtle yet powerful album that envelopes the listener from beginning to end. Truly stunning. 4/5