OUTBURN MAGAZINE (ISSUE 46)
EBM Electro Punk - On Die Young: Stay Pretty, the debut album from The Thought Criminals, vocalist Rocky Goode and programmer Kirlian Blue blend punk, new wave, electro, EBM and pop into a unique brand of dark alternative dance music. Stylistically, the album can be divided into two distinct halves, although at points the line between the two blurs. The first half consists of catchy electronic pop songs with tongue in check lyrics and punk rock attitude, while the other half explores EBM and dark club music. The band’s pop side is best exemplified by the catchy lead single “(I’m Gonna Be A) Celebrity” . “Date Rape Lovers” and “Pappa’s Got A Brand New Gun” are equally strong and feature the kind of sing along choruses that tend to get stuck in one’s head. One the other hand, the band is also adept to creating club friendly tracks, like the trancey “Minimal” and “Automan”, which blend acid trance and EBM to perfection. In addition to the album’s 10 tracks, seven bonus remixes are included, most of which sound like a natural extension from the album proper, taking some of the popper tracks and giving them more of an edgy club sound. Die Young: Stay Pretty is an impressive album that defies easy categorization and offers plenty for fans of various styles of subversive dance music. (8/10)

GRAVE CONCERNS EZINE
Delivering funky, techno-inspired modern synthpop with an exceedingly bad attitude and a whole lot of British wit, this UK duo's debut is one of the more unique offerings to come along in quite some time. Though a fondness for breakbeats and a penchant for sardonic, deadpan lyrics brings to mind a less industrial version of Sheep on Drugs, vocalist Rocky Goode and programmer Kirlian Blue have created something quite original. If Sheep on Drugs are best-known for their cynical sneers and jungle-inspired beats, Goode and Blue's tracks are just as nasty in thematic terms, but their pop melodies and sing-along choruses are so deceptively upbeat it's almost hard to remember that Goode is singing songs about such horrible things. The falsetto chorus on "My Baby's a Suicide Bomber" is so perky you'll take no notice that you're singing along to a song about terrorism, and "Date Rape Lovers" is tasteless but gloriously infectious. It's that blend of unapologetic pop hooks and hilariously provocative songwriting that really makes this album; songs that attempt a more serious edge, like "(I'm Gonna Be A) Celebrity" are solidly crafted but repetitive in places, though "Minimal" is catchy in its titular minimalism in the same way as fellow UK dance act Underworld at their best. Though its 10 songs run a little on the short side, the CD comes packed with no less than seven bonus remixes, including a spaced out electro version of "Minimal" and an extended house mix of "Date Rape Lovers" by Ed Strazdas, so this is more than worth your money if you're in the mood to, as the final album track encourages, "Party 'Till the Police Come." Check it out if you're a fan of The Prodigy, Sheep on Drugs, or Fatboy Slim.

HEATEN HARVEST
A lot of releases from the UK to handle in this package and its sure interesting to dive deep into the bowels of electronic music of the island to the west. The Thought Criminals are a two man band based in the southern parts of London and makes music stamped by the record label as EBM laced Sci-Fi/80’s/Electro Punk. And yea, although weird I would say that is a fair assessment of what this band is creating.

The music is both bizarrely uplifting and cheerful in a twisted way with lyrics infused with sarcasm and a heavy dose of IN YOUR FACE rhymes and lines. Song such as Cyberslut and Pappa's Got A Brand New Gun are to sing-a-long friendly to be raw EBM and yet the songs feel more like twisted electronic pop or something. Someway along the travel I found myself almost disgusted by the mere fact that I actually hummed along with the music, it is quite addictive and my bets are that it works well on the dance floor as well. However the setback is that it is not really appeasing to my rawer and furious vein that craves those mighty EBM choirs and chants of nuclear war. Neither does it appease my calmer side longing for those electronic pieces of clarity such as Antlers Mulm.

In the end what this album offers is a good combination of EBM, Punk and Electro Pop mashed together in an unholy alliance. The first part of the CD is the actual tracks delivered with a steaming burst of weird lyrics and melodies, the second part are all about remixes and most of them are great additions with some extra beat that might evolve this from ordinary electronic music to great dance music. I have no clue whether this is good clubbing music or not and I bet that you will never find me on a dance floor since I am too much of a loner to find a place crowded with flesh to be interesting. I’ll just leave that decision to all those would be DJs out there but from the sound alone and a good educated guess I think it might just do well smuggled in with some heavier acts such as Front 242 or VNV Nation.

The best part of this album, hands down, is the lyrics. Only by grasping the first few songs you start to realise the greatness of the words, especially songs such as Pappa's Got A Brand New Gun brings a smile to my face. The line “Im in heaven with my AK-47” is bloody genial, and even if its not that original or mind breaking it got a great rhyme in itself the gets stickied all over your brain. Die Young : Stay Pretty might not be the most evolutional album I have ever heard nor is it completely blank. It’s a great mix of styles and genres that interbreed into something not all new but not all uninteresting. I would recommend this album if you like aspects of softer EBM with some punk elements attached to it, not only does it feel like a breath of fresh air but it is. Its one step in the right direction and I hope to hear more from these two freaks in the future..

PLASTIC SICKNESS
With their first release, "Die Young: Stay Pretty", The Thought Criminals give us an interesting mix of electro/punk/new wave/industrial and dance music fused together. This is almost alt-industrial, similar at times to Consolidated or Die Warzau with an older era industrial/new wave blend. Overall not a bad album, I can't say that I loved it from start to finish - especially the first track "Cyber Slut". As The Thought Criminals vary their vocals on the album, the falsetto in the original was more than a little annoying. Highlights for me were "Minimal" which is faster and more of a dance track, along with "Party 'Till The Police Come" which is fun.

The release includes 10 original tracks and 17 remixes. For me the remixes were a bit better through than the full album, but still hit or miss. There are more electro/club remixes done which will appeal to DJs who like variety in their sets. The Damien Choir Mix of "Minimal" was one of my favorites, even though it was a bit slower - the bassline was nice and deep and the thing had a good flow to it.

This album gets my respect as these boy from South London show us some nice creativity with their self proclaimed "dirty British electro". It's worth checking out, especially for those who are into a more electro sound.

ECTOMAG
There are times where the world of synth pop can get a little bit boring. With everything being horrid sadness draped in poppy beats. But The Thought Criminals take things up a notch with Die Young Stay Pretty. Its all the happiness ofsynth pop mixed with some of the more twisted shit that makes industrial awesome. All of the woe is me bullshit is replaced with witty quips and perverse evil. With beats that are like crack to the ear they are so addictive. Their preoccupation with sluts, guns and serial killers is a bit disturbing, but at the same time its one of the things that makes the album positivelydelish .

The way they were able to blend almost an entire Manson interview in Papa's Got A Brand New Gun is excellent. Manson is one of those killers who has be sampled to death. But because they use a lot more of the interview than his greatest hits it adds a little extra bit of spice to the whole thing. The strange thing about using the longer interview though is that even though they give a pretty good description of  the songs mad man overall Icouldn't help but superimpose Manson's face on the disgruntled worker walking in to shit shoot up the place.

The beats are all tight as fuck using an arsenal of synths and programs to create fresh and original tunes instead on relying on standard dace floor fare. Still it isn't just the beats that make this such a good album. Its the way they manage to take horrible things like suicide bombings and workplace violence, and make them fun. The first time I heard Suicide Bomber the lyric "she misunderstood when I said I like Bush" made me laugh so hard I almost spit soda out of my nose. They even mange to take something as horrid as date rape and make it seem like it may not be all that bad with the right person. And anyone who can make me smile and dance while the talk about the worlds ills is alright in my book.

The remixes of Minimal and Suicide Bomber are almost a bit better than the original. As they slow things down to a demented kind of sexy designed for those of us who like our evil as slow like asadistic dentists drill. From beginning to end this album is thoroughly refreshing.