lahannya welcome to the underground (ep)

Released: 31 October 2008 Label: Kabuki Records

Lahannya are an Anglo-German quartet who play Industrial Rock. Blue haired front woman Lahannya (yes, she has the same name as the band) has been kicking about for a few years now as a vocalist and DJ but this is the first release where things have taken more of a rock direction.

The EP hasf five new tracks that consist of some pretty basic rock riffs, nothing too heavy, mixed in with some nice keyboard work. The overall tone is quite melancholy, however Lahannya’s vocals often sound more like she is bored than morose as she has quite a monotone delivery.

Surprisingly things actually perk up for the four remixes which create the second half. Things just get a bit more exciting and her vocals seem to come alive with more of a dance beat behind them, as well as a bit of added reverb. The remixes are defiantly more along the lines of something you would expect to hear during a typical Goth night, from 80s synth to the thumping Cybergoth beats provided by the Bleed for Me and Inside the Machine tracks.

So a bit of a mixed bag overall, probably more worth getting if gothic inspired dance music is more your thing as opposed to the rock section of this EP which just seems to lack a little.

by Claudia Glazzard