Review: Nick Sentience – Syncronized (Available at NickSentience.com)

Nick Sentience author of one of the best trance albums of 2011? Don't think many would have expected that, but we like positive surprises.

Tracklist

1. Nick Sentience – We Have Explosive (Intro)

2. Nick Sentience – Hear Me Now

3. Nick Sentience – Stimuli

4. Nick Sentience – Nine Moons

5. Nick Sentience – Sakura

6. Nick Sentience – Sub Atomic

7. Nick Sentience – Shoreline

8. Nick Sentience – Nocturnal

9. Nick Sentience feat Lizzie Curious – Free Falling

10. Nick Sentience – Get Up & Rock

11. Nick Sentience & Dj Kristian – Threshold

12. Nick Sentience feat Lizzie Curious – Telepathy

Our pick(s) in order of preference: 8, 3, 10 = 11.

The much needed premise we need to make before effectively deep diving into the merits and the flaws of this album by Nick Sentience is that this work is only available on the artist official website and most importantly there are no dj-friendly versions of the tracks. We know this will be a huge turn off for some of you as you and we completely understand that, in fact we are puzzled as well by this decision taken by Nick, but the final vote wasn't influenced at all by this. We are here to judge the music and not how it is delivered, we have already told you enough about what we think of this choice.

Known for his distinctive style of banging trance, Nick Sentience has been active on the scene since well over a decade and this Syncronized is his fourth album. Despite the quality of his output lately didn't necessarily impress us, we have to admit every doubt we had about the quality of this work was immediately shed after a first through listen. Often times the banging trance coming from labels specialized in this type of music like Subculture, Pharmacy Music and Perfecto are soulless, robotic and recycled. In fact it is since Nicholas Bennison – Tension Of Opposites that we have been waiting for another slamming trance album capable of reaching the same quality highs.

Syncronized doesn't quite reach the peaks of magnificence of that Bennison album, but it has been a while since a trance album carried inside so much energy and we had a lot of fun listening to it. Sentience stayed faithful to the type of sound he has always promoted and delivered, something we can only thank him for given how many producers have moved to sounds that are more trendy and easy to sell nowadays. So regardless of whether a track is mostly breaks, trance or psy-trance, they all are piece of slamming and at the same time euphoric music.

Nocturnal is the highlight of the album and an anthem that has already made damage on all dancefloors where is was played, but Stimuli is definitely not that far away from the sheer brilliance of Nocturnal. The vocal Free Falling on the other hand crosses in the cheesy department in some parts, but avoid misunderstanding we are still far away from any type of ASOT trashy type of tracks. While Telepathy is the usual last track that as in many trance and psy-trance albums sound more like a bonus, although we have to admit we are definitely above the average bonus material here.

Looking to have again some real fun listening to trance? Then this Syncronized is definitely the album to buy this year.

Vote: 8.0/10

Syncronized Album Preview by NickSentience

Online music shops links

Digital Version

CD Release

For more information about Nick Sentience, check out:

www.nicksentience.com