Saccharine Souvenirs
Trauma
There are two ways you can approach this record! One possibility could be to follow the lament of the ones that for years and years have been in search of a substitute for their favorite band, which had a promising start but at some point took a wrong path. Those that hold the view that DIGITAL LEATHER took that wrong exit after "Monologue", at the latest with "Hard at work", can be relieved. SACCHARINE SOUVENIRS take the same dark and melancholic line but throw in the right additive to finally be more than just the continuation of their reference. On the other hand you can approach this record by taking a look at the lengthy development of its musical roots. This approach is not that precise and a rocky road for sure, because it only delivers the main ingredients and for obvious reasons can hardly be looked up at Bandcamp. But those who want to find out for themselves can struggle through a maze of bands which the majority of people hardly has heard of. All these bands have in common that they were around (even if only for a short time) in the early 80s, bands like CIRCUIT 7 (Video boys), DAS KABINETTE (Fudge it), CHARLES DE GOAL (Exposition), FUTURISK (Army now), MITTAGEISEN, THE UNITS (Digital simulation), earliest HUMAN LEAGUE (Taverner tapes) and others whose music could only be heard on tape cassette among a small circle of aficionados back in the days. SACCHARINE SOUVENIRS is a spin-off of EXIT and MISCALCULATIONS and the band has a real great sense for little mean and minimalistic melodies. Not only do they add a second female voice but also guitar lines that Robert Smith in his heyday could not have played prettier and hidden any better in the broad synthesizers. Most people will only hear them if directly colliding with their nose on them but from then on they will never be able to fade them out again. The 10 songs are completed by a sound which perfectly captures the charme of an 80s bedroom recording in all its narrowness.