Neology's "Morning People" was my first exposure to a full-length techno/electronic music CD. What I had heard previously all sounded the same to me--the same disco-y beat reminding me immediately of the bobbing heads of Will Ferrell and Chris Kattan in their Saturday Night Live characters. But this was different. Each new track was unique, capturing my interest. From the poetry of a dear friend to the words of his grandmother back in Poland, Neology integrates personal nostalgia with modern electronic sounds, surrounding the text with his own, well-constructed, aesthetically pleasing and invigorating music. The passion for his music and the compassion for those who inspired him are evident, making the listening experience just incredible. My favorite track is Gray Day, always making me move to the beat of the cool bassline, and always making me smile. Over the bassline lies an ethereal journey. The chords change, sometimes at expected intervals, other times not, but always gently, smoothly. A close second is Floating, where I can't help but sing along to the phrase, "Falling into the sun." Floating also has nice counterpoint: Neology expertly layers the two main themes at different points. But, enough about my personal favorites. Anyone reading this review needs to give Morning People a listen. It opened me up to a new world of music, and it will do the same for you. Enjoy!

The blurb sent with this CD tells us that the creator, Martin Pukownik ‘has spent the last twenty years in a cocoon-like state, absorbing a wide range of musical influences.’ I think that’s nice. I like to think of Martin at the bottom of a swimming pool like a big rock, endowing any passing pensioners with a new vitality to go with their bus passes. And one can only assume that the pool attendant liked to listen to a lot of dance music while he cleaned, as that would seem to have been the major influence on young Martin while he metamorphosised. When he stretched his shiny new body, and renamed himself ‘Neology’ to emphasise his rebirth, he set forth to create an equally shiny pop-dance record. It shimmers and gleams in the morning light, it’s alternately happy then moody, and it’s really quite good. This is no amateur event, though, despite the recent hatching. Even the weak tracks on the album glide by inoffensively, their only crime a lack of guts or feeling, never a lack of technical skill. And the good tracks, of which they mostly are, are noteworthy for both knob-twiddling deftness and musical accomplishment. The sounds are both textured and defined and the samples are always appropriate. The beats err not on the side of gut-wrenching fatness but of high bpm, always with enough depth and melody to keep you listening. The tracks segue together perfectly, creating cohesive listening despite the differences in tone. Like a grab bag of electronic styles, there’s something here for all. The choice of single would be the second track, ‘Life’s Little Lessons’, which has a bouncing bass line married to swirling keyboards, and a tired sounding David Byrne-esque vocal playing off against a simple acoustic guitar line. The vocals (Neology’s own?) make a comeback on the penultimate track, ‘Digital Player’, which is a song truly deserving of some radio rotation. In a brave move, Neology ditches the singing in most of the tracks in favour of some spoken word samples. ‘Awake’ has a very ‘Little Fluffy Clouds’ feel to it; ‘Affirmation’ has some well-chosen samples mixed with shimmering synth to create an optimistic mood; and ‘Maya’s Song’ is a darker effort, with urgent spoken word and creepy melodies. It’s a mix of all the usual suspects of this genre, it’s a bit like Moby minus the world-raking sampling, it’s a bit like Telepopmusik without the hip-hop, or Orbital without the club beats. It sounds too in places a lot like Recoil, Alan Wilder’s act from the eighties and nineties, but without the edgy darkness inherent in his recordings. Tracks on Morning People are a much brighter affair, but brighter without becoming saccharine or two-dimensional. In fact, in some ways this is a much more rounded album than, say, Recoil’s Liquid album of 2000; because where that album created an unremittingly dark mood, with breathy spoken word and distorted guitars growling in the background; for every flirtation with the dark on Neology’s album there is a track of lighter material, lighter without ever nearing facile. The question begged while listening to Morning People is that does an album so rooted in the musical styles of five to ten years ago have any relevance today? This is not by any means an album on the cutting edge, but then, I haven’t thrown away any of my old Orb records. Who says neology and nostalgia can’t go hand in hand?

I really like this CD. It flows together extremely well, and it's never boring or monotaneous. All the songs are unique, and none of them sounds like the previous, yet they all melt together into a great full length record. This is definitely a great record to own if you like the chiller and poppier side of techno music.

good, but still a bit too generic. i would say that this album falls BETWEEN the cracks of orbital and moby BUT is just not quite as good as either! a little too much house infusion and not enough unique and moving tracks as you would find on an orbital or moby album. much potential. this music would be great to have playing in any of the cool NYC clubs/bars like 'park' 'kanvas' or 'ruby falls'