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Reviews - View from an Intergalactic Star

Zine: Wrath
Origin: Germany
Date: 2002-03-18
Rated: No

Marina Sirtis is – for all of you who don't know – the name of an actress that plays the character of Troy, ship's counsellor and Betazoid, in the TV-series “Star Trek – Next Generation”. She's acting at her best when she's quite, that is, when she 's acting visually. *HeHe*. Why the band chose this name no one knows. But hey there: MS are from Sweden, have a Star Trek name- what kind of music are we talking about here? Hiphop? No, surprise – Synthpop! How could it possibly be any different? Quite some competition one can expect there. Yet the first track presents itself as a very good representative of the synthpop genre. It is a calm, atmospheric synthpop song with sustaining vocals that bears a certain resemblance to songs like “The Sun and the Rainfall” by Depeche Mode and that I happen to like quite much. The next track is unfortunately a little bit to poppy. The third track bears a strong resemblance to something heard before (Wolfsheim?). The last track, with its relaxed club-sound, fits quite well to “Lovecats” by the Cure. Summarized a nice EP by a band that – if they make full use of their potential and decide to go their own way – may have a decent chance at surviving in the synthpop jungle.

Zine: Elektroniski Zvuk
Origin: Croatia
Date: 2002-02-13
Rated: No

The Swedish electro-pop scene now and then surprises us with a new name. The Swedish trio Marina Sirtis still functions as a demo band but deserves in spite more attention. With their promotion maxi CD "View from an intergalactic star" they present their melancholic electro-pop and signal for their coming debut album. Some songs can be downloaded in mp3-format at www.mp3.com/marinasirtis. The members of Marina Sirtis are; Anders Larsson, Martin Lofgren and Andre Oberg and they have been doing this kind of production in nine years, even if the band formed in 1997. If Marina Sirtis sounds familiar it's because that is a famous actress from the cult series Star Trek. "View from an intergalactic star" presents four tracks with an exceptional melodic synth pop sound. Marina Sirtis has the potential of becoming the new hope of the legendary Swedish electro-pop.

Zine: E-lectic
Origin: Germany
Date: 2002-02-11
Rated: No

Synth pop from Sweden has in recent years been forced to accept a setback. With the ending of Elegant Machinery, German and American bands have taken more and more of the rather small pie of synth pop. S.P.O.C.K isn't as active as they were in the 90ies and there isn't much heard from Statemachine, Automatic or KieTheVez. The dormant season of the former Synth pop nation No. 1 can now be over, when Marina Sirtis at last comes with a new synth pop band from the Nordic countries. Actually the band isn't that new but they have taken the name, that could be from a Greece shipping company, more recently (before the band was called Innocencia). The EP "View from an Intergalactic Star" is a test-balloon for their up-coming spring 2002 full-length album. The three Swedish guys absolutely play a solid synth pop but a real hit is missing. In any case "In the dark" is original with its snappy rhythm. The rest to some extent vanishes in mediocrity even if is quite clear that there exist a high potential as the vocal and the sound is first-class. A real Gassenhauer* is not easily to drawn from ones sleeve, not even in Sweden. The only thing to do is to wait for their album. Everyone with S.P.O.C.K abstinence can look forward to the live performances of these funny Scandinavians, as they will go on a European tour. Judging from the pictures, which could be found in the Multimedia track on the CD, it seems like a Marina Sirtis concert a big party with elements of show and crazy consumes. It is something to look forward to! (AW)

Zine: Chain DLK
Origin: Italy
Date: 2002-02-11
Rated: No

Formed in 1991 with the name of Innocencia the band included the members Anders Larsson and Martin Lofgren (and Jonas Andersson). In 1993 André Oberg joined and Anderson retired from the group. The group released the 14 track tape "Racerbil". In 1997, then they changed name to Marina Sirtis. In 1999 the four tracks EP VIEW FROM AN INTERGALACTIC STAR was released (even if I've seen year 2000 as release date). The four tracks of the mini CD are quiet intriguing and a different kind of synthpop. Essential Voices is the darkest of the lot and maybe it will be similar to the ones of the new CD that will be released this spring. The other three, Count My Destruction, For A Second In My Latest Nightmare and In The Dark are catching mid tempos. Even if there's a certain lack of energy (I think this is due to the recording) the tracks are good and interesting. The band isn't the classic synthpop band and seems to have also humor and originality. Look what they state on their bio: "In previous performances we have built a living room on stage with armchairs, bookshelves, curtains and stuff where some of us in the background have been preparing toast and tea and champagne which we have treated the audience. Lately a lot of inflatable stuff has appeared on stage. Normally we also shoot soap bubbles, confetti, balloons, aeroplanes and other stuff over the audience. Obviously we frequently change our clothes and from time to time we use masks". Give a look at their website where they have got also some pictures of the live events...

Zine: Music for the masses
Origin: Austria
Date: 2002-01-29
Rated: 75 %

This is a Promo EP for Marina Sirtis's debut full-length album which will be released this spring. Marina Sirtis swears by minimalistic and melodic SynthPoP. The songs create a deep, far-reaching atmosphere. The singing comes across very balanced and unobtrusive and does not dominate their music. The compositions are really challenging and sometimes create a thrilling atmosphere (for example in Essential Voice, where the strings create a mystic, thrilling texture in the background - GREAT!!!). Some will miss the more aggressive and dynamic singing but in my opinion it perfectly fits with the instrumentals. On the whole this EP delivers smooth, well-tried romantic SynthPoP - very demanding but maybe not to everyone's taste.

Zine: Electric Diary
Origin: Germany
Date: 2002-01-22
Rated: 57 %

Swenden - Star Trek - Synth pop … With these three catchwords it should be easy for anyone to identify a certain band. As their colleagues S.P.O.C.K, Marina Sirtis is also surfing on these waves. The three gentlemen Anders Larsson, Martin Löfgren, and André Öberg formed a band in 1993 and now they are taking the chance to do some promotion for their up-coming full-length album. "View from an Intergalactic Star was first released in 2000 but the promotion CD also includes a CD-ROM track with info and pictures. The band, who describes themselves as a synth pop band, seems to be funny chaps, which is made clear from available concert photos. Masks, balloons, water pistols, and a number of other items belong to their repertoire as much as the keyboards. Now one can quickly think that they are trying to surpass S.P.O.C.K with their merryness. Wrong! The music of Marina Sirtis is a lot more darker and doesn't contain the typical blubber-electro-sound, that one is used to hear from other bands. Synth pop/Dark Wave would be the best way of describing them. The songs still need a touch-up but they show good hope. One can visit the band on Internet at www.marinasirtis.net.

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