Joy Electric, Starcadia
Reviewed by f*v

This is a 5 song EP that is the first in the series of Plastiq Musiq's black and white series pressings. When I originally reviewed Starcadia, it had just gone out of print and half my reason for reviewing it was to make everyone think I was special. However, by the time you read this, it is back in print again, so consider this a high recommendation to order it.

Ronnie Martin's ability to write diverse electronic music is fully displayed with Starcadia. He begins with "The Matterhorn," a nice introduction piece with straightforward melody and a riff that frankly, won't leave my head. The title track appears next, feeling slower and intricately placing simple candy-stripe melodies within each other against a windy backdrop. Five seconds into "Dance to Moroder," Martin invites listeners to "dance to moroder," and while we may not be quite sure what that means, odds are the invited had started to dance before the previous five seconds were up. This song has a big beat and another catchy melody running alongside Ronnie's vocals, teasing our ears into thinking we're at some strange punk disco. "Circa 1978" is more or less sonic Ronnie's tribute to the year that found Jimmy Carter in the White House, The Incredible Hulk on television, and a red-headed f*v starting to walk. JE finishes the album with "The Carousel of Progress," a dark and noisy track that finds Martin's vocals distorted and the beat going too fast to dance.


Joy Electric