Customer Reviews

Ultimate Sky

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

i love synth pop/rock. i always have. but im very picky. some of the newer stuff is not my thing. i love the good stuff: DM, CAMOUFLAGE, MESH, DE/VISION, CAUSE AND EFFECT, ALPHAVILLE.

i have to be honest and say that the "red dawn" single did nothing for me. as a matter of fact i think its my least favorite track on the album. and a bad choice for a single. but there was something about it that made me come back for more. and im glad that i did (thanx "rocket" review.). this album got me as excited as hearing "sparrows..." by wofsheim or "stangelove" by dm for the first time, years ago.

"sorrows", "my own denial", "the ocean's wide", and escpecially "destiny's line"---are just outstanding.
heartfelt lyrics, passionate vocals, and a great melody make the perfect songs. and thats what this collection of songs are: perfect. although this album is more enjoyable with each listen,
this is a tight album. i'm sorry i didnt find out about this band earlier. its been a long time since i actually read a lyric booklet. these lyrics are deep. but simple. at least they are for me. good stuff here kids. dont miss out!!!

Some CD's you buy don't stay in your CD player very long, while others manage to stay in there for quite a while before you want to take them out. This is one of those CD's that has that kind of lasting power and replay value. It's a great album, with a range of upbeat offerings and some slower songs to round out the album. Songs such as "Red Dawn", "Sorrows", "The Ocean's Wide", "Destiny's Line" and "The Final Song" are personal favorites. If you like strong melodic vocals and electronic pop music, such as Camouflage and De/Vision, then this CD is right up your alley!

Here is a perfect example of a record that could be an entry point for many a music fan into the world of synthpop and etc. I like to collectively call "electronic alternative" (at risk of invoking two often misunderstood music-critic tags.) Perhaps nowhere in the West is electronic-based popular music more misrepresented, pigeonholed, and so forth than right here in the U.S. The average opinion of anything that's both pop/alternative and electronic is that it's either A) top 40 syrup, B) bad 80s music, or C) a quirky sideproject by a current college radio rock/alt band that gets the stamp of approval because, well, when the guys in the band aren't being quaint, they rock. This sort of thinking is quite understandable -- this is how the scene is "presented" -- i.e. it's not.

So as a DJ of one of the few electronic-alt only radio shows in the US (Transmission Control, 91.3 FM Trenton, NJ -- a non-commercial station, obviously) I'm not only interested in playing great synthpop, electro-industrial, etc., I'm also always on the lookout for 100% integrity crossover material. With this album, I've spun nearly every track on my show.

Fact: those "Postal Service"-style side projects I mentioned are a good thing, but it's even better when a dedicated synthpop band cuts a nearless flawless record like "Ultimate Sky" by Michigan. Sure, the liner notes need some editing, and occasionally the words veer toward the vague (they're from Sweden -- their English is a lot better than my Swedish, to be sure!) It doesn't distract, because the songs have meaning, crisp, straight-ahead rhythms, zero cheese, and the ability to actually rock - literally. The song structures here are *not* Erasure (no insult here, just a fact) -- they're verse/chorus alternative rock done with very expressive analog-ish synth sounds and guitars. If you can get into The Killers/The Format/et al of today, the Psychedelic Furs/Bunnymen of then and now, or the sounds of Mesh/etc. (insert your own examples here), you can crank this up and maybe discover an entirely new scene happening right under our noses (if you haven't already.)

Michigan's second album Ultimate Sky grew on me over the past few months that I had it. At first it didn't grab me as quickly as their first CD did but that might just be because I am familiar with their style. However as I listened to the album I found that certain songs just stuck with me and I really started to like them. Ultimate Sky is a mix of harder, faster songs mixed with the right amount of slower more contemplative songs. The lyrics are complex throughout. It is really worth it to read the lyrics along with the music.

Songs like "Destiny's Line", "The Collector", "Control of Me", "A Ride In Time", "Sorrows" are all very strong. Overall Michigan's music is similar to acts like De/Vision or Mesh. It is dark, deep but also at times hopeful. The programming is superb and the group mixes up the music so it doesn't get stale.

One cannot go wrong with this CD.

I have bought everything from Bon Jovi to Best of Simple Minds this year... I have very eclectic tastes but love 80's modern rock. I have Iris, the killers etc... and this band came in first with Apoptygma Berzerk's "You and me against the world" in second place... I loved Depeche Modes new album and Erasure came out with an incredible album that seemed like something from 1994 but this was a HUGE and JOYOUS suprize... What an incredible sleeper band... another one of those I probably would have lost my but on if you could invest in bands like you can stocks... Invest... Totally worth it. (get their first one as well.)

I love Iris de/vision mesh etc now I love michigan. Holy cow this is a good album. Some of the new synth music is cheesy. This album holds up to the standards of omd, depeche mode, alphaville, etc. If you like good synth rock buy this album. Reminds me of cause & effect and Iris. If you like just good talented music get this one. I love it.

I'll be honest with you. I was never interested in this band because I thought they were going to be another another wannabe synthpop band hailing from Michigan. I've been so fond of the European synthpop out lately (Sryian, Wave in Head, De/Vision) that I didn't think this could satisfy me. But a friend of mine got it and told me how good this album was. I decided to give it a try and since some of my other fav bands are from the U.S.A. (Iris, Echoing Green) I thought I would give Michigan a try and I've not been dissapointed. They combine the best of bands like De/vision and Mesh. Great Syntpop with Dark Elements but also poppy if that makes sense. Highly Recommended.

This album took a few listens to grab me, but now I absolutely love it. I think the main thing that held me back at first was all the religion-oriented jargon scattered throughout the songs. I'm not sure if they are a semi-religious group or if they're using metaphors a la DM's "Songs of Faith and Devotion." I hope it's the latter. Either way, I wish they had cut down on it a bit. That aside, though, the production and vocals are great. Every song is memorable in its own right. The first song ("Sad Queen") is definitely my least favorite. I like everything about it but the chorus, which rubs me the wrong way for some reason. There are a couple other moments that border on cheesy, but overall it's a good, solid album. Favorite tracks are "Control" (even though they used some bad English wording in the chorus that makes it seem like a pretty risque song, even though it's probably not supposed to be), "A Ride In Time," "Red Dawn," "The Ocean's Wide," "Destiny's Line," "The Collector," and "The Final-Song" (despite the bland name). If I had to compare this band with other bands of the genre, I'd say it sounds a bit like Iris' Regan Jones voice over the music of Mesh. Again, this album would get 5 stars if not for the overuse of religious metaphors (?) and a couple cheesy chorus parts. They could have also really used an editor (or a BETTER editor) to edit the lyrics in the booklet, which look like they were typed out in a big hurry. I love this album nonetheless and greatly look forward to their next release. Highly recommended for fans of DM, Mesh, and Iris.