Reviews |
| Give
It |
| "Each track is like its own little soundworld
founded on a bed of propulsive rhythmic drive from electronic drums or
programmed rhythms or samples...On top of this, the synths flow, drive, drift,
soar, fly and gather strength to provide these wondrously infectious melodic compositions
that have passion, purpose and an almost pop sensibility, yet their inventive
arrangements and attention to absolute detail, ensure that you can listen to and
enjoy every one, time after time after time." |
| | -- Andy
Garibaldi (Dead
Earnest) |
| King
Shag |
| "Her Moby-esque mastery evokes powerful
emotion and atmosphere, from the poetic melancholy of 'Bring in the Night,' to
the hear-wrenching sadness of 'I Miss You' to the boundless frenetic hopes of
'Forever.' Rich, original, spellbinding." |
| | --
Mary Ishimoto Morris, OnTap |
| "[D]ance
music, but atmospheric enough to listen to at home." |
| | --
anna maria stjärnell, collectedsounds.com
|
| "[T]his is an album to which you
can dance from start to finish it's also an album that you enjoy from start
to finish on a serious listening level. In many ways, it's reinvented what ambient
and chill-out music was all about and made it fashionable once again, the length
of the tracks being absolutely spot on for what ALP is trying to convey and create,
so that, on all levels, this is a pure triumph." |
| |
-- Andy Garibaldi (Dead
Earnest) |
| Brief
Episodes of Joy |
| "Stantons more recent
work rides less on technology, and more on sweaty sensuality and sexuality. Love
Me Right is a steady but determined grind, a sonic orgasm. And Sol
has a thumping beat that gets the blood pumping to groin muscles you never knew
you had." |
| | -- Silver
Spring Penguin |
| "This is a stunning
album by anyone's standards, and what makes it this way is that, even though all
tracks bar the last one are relatively short, the arrangements are so well thought
out, so well constructed, that she fits in so much into each track to keep you
inexorably hooked, yet there's nothing wasted, nothing missing, no frills, no
gaps, nothing overly busy and everything absolutely enjoyable from start to finish.
If you wanted to reinvent an old rule book in a modern way and make it sound like
the first time it'd been done, then this is the album that does it. Superb!!!" |
| | -- Andy Garibaldi (Dead
Earnest) |
| "Bev Stanton's project returns
with another album of electronic joy. As before longtime collaborator Lisa Moscatiello
joins her. She sings on the strident, club-friendly opener I Want You. Naked has
more of a languid feel and will probably suit chill out sessions fine. Friendly
Fire has Moscatiello on vocals again and she brings her usual sweet tone to soft
but far from edgeless work...It's another great album by ALP." |
| | -- anna maria stjärnell, collectedsounds.com
|
| Beneath
the Watchful Eyes |
| "Out D.C. area DJ-producer-composer
Bev Stanton is nothing if not prolific. And consistent. How does she do it? This
latest 15-track opus is yet another sumptuous chapter in her lifelong electronic
obsession." |
| | -- Margaret Coble, Curve Magazine
|
| Bev Stanton has done it again long
may she reign." |
| | -- anna maria stjärnell,
collectedsounds.com
|
| "...this might be the best album
I've reviewed in months." |
| | -- Past and Present
Webzine |
| "...[A] sumptuous musical cake
as the rhythms march above oceans of electronics to a huge-sounding and spookily
cosmic finale, the end being so suitably fitting as it fades into the distance
leaving you wanting nothing more than to hear the whole thing once again." |
| | -- Andy Garibaldi (Dead
Earnest) |
| "Complex compositions are
smeared with glossy synths and astonishing melodies....The album is surprisingly
very organic sounding and has a pulse that is invigorating and highly energetic,
though its well-paced with its tempos and doesnt dog you out by the
fifth track. File this under perfect and must-have." |
| | -- J-Sin (Smother.net) |
| Troubled |
| "[S]wirling, bubbling electronic soundscape that mesmerizes
from start to finish...the entire disc makes for great mood /sex /exercise /road
trip music. Kudos!" |
| | -- Curve Magazine |
| "Kinda creeping me out. Great stuff." |
| | -- Pamela
Murray Winters |
| "On Troubled, Bev
once again earns her title as the "Mistress of Remix". She takes the
source material, a bubbling pastiche of Washington DC's most talented jazz and
country musicians, and coats it with her special electronic wax while allowing
Lisa's succulent alto vox to remain on top of it all. And the result is completely
sexy! Bev's seductive electronic compositions with a voice rumored to have once
caused a multiple orgasm. What more could you ask for?" |
| |
-- Christopher
Dylan Massey + Church of Girl |
| Troubled
is a fine spin-off from its patent album and works well on its own." |
| | -- anna maria stjärnell, collectedsounds.com
|
| Pursuit
of Happiness |
| "Fusing a combination of electro
rock, pop and sassy vocals...there's something quite engaging that lulls you in
like a siren and then grabs you round the throat. Opening with "Alone Till
the Day I Die", the first thing you notice is the vocals. They have that
sassy almost Ertha Kitt quality to them. In fact there's a lot that reminds me
of Shirley Bassey..." |
| | -- Indie
Launchpad |
| "We were excited from the
moment we saw the cover art because it held the promise of exploration of desire
and the shadowy side of our nature. ALP did not disappoint. Pursuit of Happiness
is a collection of expansive auditory landscapes -- ranging from down tempo to
dance-floor ready -- cleverly woven together by the musical genius that is Bev
Stanton. All songs are richly layered with synthesizers and bass lines analogous
to 80's industrial synth-pop acts like Skinny Puppy and Depeche Mode. The naughty
samples and occasional vocals by Lisa Moscatiello or Heather Heimbuch are icing
on this dark delicious electronic cake." |
| | --
Church
of Girl |
| "[F]rom the 70 albums I've
reviewed so far since we re-opened this webzine, I think 'Pursuit of Happiness'
is the best one yet... If you like your electronic music to be varied and go way
beyond what you hear in the clubs every weekend, then Arthur Loves Plastic is
a good alternative." |
| | -- Past
and Present Webzine |
| "Another superb,
self-released electronic delight" |
| | -- Curve
Magazine |
| " Fortunately, it seems
to be Ms Stanton's karmic fate to repay society by releasing really good music...The
title track is a solid vocal song reminiscent of great 80’s acts like Propaganda,
and you know how much I loves me some 80's music. "Pursuit of Happiness"
leads into the very pretty "Just for the Night", and when you throw
in the album closer "Play Misty", you've got my three favorite tracks
on the album." |
| | -- The
Estrogenius Radio blog |
| "It's another
fine record by Bev Stanton." |
| | --
anna maria stjärnell, collectedsounds.com
|
| "such beautiful grooves and danceyness...and
lovely and honest vocals/lyrics" |
| | -- Tommy
T, Cyberage radio, KUNM |
| Love
or Perish |
| "It's usually nice when local
DJs put out electronica mix CDs, but it's even better when they release CDs of
original material. Arthur Loves Plastic -- aka DJ Bev Stanton -- is among the
most prolific around, but she's also one of the best, melding moody downtempo
pieces with dance-floor-friendly stompers." |
| |
-- Fritz Hahn, washingtonpost.com |
| "
Love or Perish is a moody collection of downtempo pieces and beat driven remixes.
About half the tracks feature vocals by Lisa Moscatiello or Heather Heimbuch,
offering us an emotional ride through our own shadowed corners and original desires." |
| | -- Church of Girl
|
| "This energetic recording of intelligent
electronica blended with a real organic feel will take you to another world! I
still find myself listening to this album" |
| | --
ReVamp Music
|
| "Latest studio offering into 2005
for leading DJ and musical pioneer Bev Stanton whose one-woman crusade (plus assorted
guest vocalists) into the chunky ambient, techno and houseworlds of what is essentially
commercial dance music with original twists, continues to take the listener into
an ever higher state of euphoria....a bona-fide, rhythmic, full-sounding, spellbinding
winner of an album... Stunning!!" |
| | -- Andy
Garibaldi (CD Services/ Dead
Earnest ) |
| Savage
Bliss |
| " [T]he best electronica album this
year has had to offer... And it isn't just one-dimensional trance-like club-music
all the way through, either" |
| | -- Past
and Present Webzine |
| "Brand new
and entirely unexpected but so welcome. Our fave musical chef of the hour, Bev
Stanton, has, this time concocted one heady brew of electronics, rhythms and samples,
but also this time a few songs and the result is as riveting a 39 minutes as you'll
find on any modern dance-ambient-industrial crossover album around to day....
The one thing you want to do when you've heard this album, is hear it again -
it's that hot. Simply irresistible!!!!!" |
| | --
Andy Garibaldi (CD Services/ Dead
Earnest ) |
| "Our favorite prolific
Laydee Mixtress has released another fantastic CD, Savage Bliss. Traversing into
new territory, ALP delivers a collection of tracks that tread a darker and more
mysterious path than previous releases. Ever the DIY Diva, Savage Bliss is the
9th self-produced CD for ALP and the best soundtrack for "soothing the burn of
traumatic social encounters and occupational ennui"!" |
| |
-- Church of Girl |
| "While club-friendly and certainly dripping wet with hooks
and melody, this is not your average digestible techno album; indeed its scope
is daunting and haunts you with its superb production and multiple layers." |
| | -- J-Sin, smother.net
|
| Higher
Fruit |
| "[A] set of uptempo works that are
so lovingly crafted and arranged as to put the likes of Orbital, Future Loop Foundation,
Moby, modern Orb and the like, firmly in the shade. With a sparkling array of
synths, keyboards, samples, percussives and occasional vocal plus sampled news
sources, this is yet another varied and constantly engaging worlk of organic sounding,
heartfelt and, above all, emotional compositions that simply cannot fail to move
you from head to foot...an undoubted winner from start to finish, tracks you will
play and play and play." |
| | -- Andy Garibaldi
(CD Services/Dead Earnest) |
| "if you're looking
for music that is warm yet experimental & accessible yet innovative then look
no further than ALP" |
| | -- www.sideline.com
|
| "If it were vinyl, we would be
wearing the grooves out!" |
| | -- Church
of Girl |
| "With sampler secured firmly
in hand and her game face on, Ms. Bev Stanton set out to create yet another release
as Arthur Loves Plastic - ALP to the diehards. They say: when you're good, you're
good but if you are Bev Stanton - you're truly amazing all the time. Assisted
by the vocal talents of Lisa Moscatiello (a singer with a voice so stunningly
beautiful she moved a friend of the fairer sex to orgasm at least twice) and others,
Higher Fruit is sure to inspire newcomers and leave the fans of Arthur past with
sore repeat button fingers. Yeah, it's THAT good. I've always enjoyed the pristine
production quality (the eq. in particular... the bass is gigantic when it needs
to be) and the careful thought put into the pattern arrangements and sampling
- Bev Stanton has yet another winner under her super-grrrl utility belt. With
somewhere in the ballpark of 10 releases to date, you'd expect nothing less than
spine-tingling, soul touching, brain chemistry altering, breakneck electronica
- ALP delivers. High points include: Feel the love... umm you know what... the
whole F-@&%-ing CD is good. Buy it." |
| | --
DeeJay Copelinn, aural-innovations.com
|
| "Well I'm so impressed with everything
she's done outside of Arther Loves Plastic that its hard for me to keep focus
on how great and beautiful Bev Stanton's latest album is...her music could make
platinum artists like Moby look over their shoulder at this rising techno artist.
Seldom do I listen to an album and find nothing negative. Get this album-it literally
is all positives." |
| | -- Smother.net
|
| "Higher Fruit is the
tenth album from Bev Stanton and as always, hits the mark, dead on. She is a master.
I am convinced after all these years there is nothing that she cannot do when
it comes to the studio. She is expressive and stunning." |
| |
-- Laurin Wollan, Music Monthly |
| Nadir |
"Now this is simply amazing. A studio album that is altogether
way more intense than what has gone before. The soundscapes sound positively angry,
but in the sense that you shake your fist at some spiritual being who you feel
is letting your life down, trying to find some reason for what is happening around
you. The sound textures, layers, rhythms and effects are this time a good deal
more taut, yet retain their sense of flow and drive throughout. A winner in anyone's
books and no mistake, and yet another gem of an album from one of the finest talents
in electronic music around today." |
| | -- A
Garibaldi (CD Services) |
| " Nadir
is an accomplished and adventurous record." |
| | -- anna
maria stjärnell, collectedsounds.com
|
| " Nadir is the appropriate
mind bomb...[s]he can with great stealth slip into subtle form with her electronic
knowledge, but her beats are what really kill me. This is a good disc that mates
well with any Radiohead...." |
| | -- Laurin Wollan,
Music Monthly |
| "The new release by Arthur
Loves Plastic is absolutely solid from beginning to end. Ms. Stanton certainly
knows how to groove both intelligently and sexy at the same time. The samples,
which include such topics as the American war on drugs, missile launch/flight/delivery
command language, and other blips and pieces placed carefully throughout, offered
thought-provoking insight into the mind of quite possibly one of the most exciting
artists in electronic music today." |
| | -- Don Smith,
Aural
Innovations |