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 | |
| "Stanton’s 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 it’s well-paced with its tempos and doesn’t 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 | |
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