Black Audio "CexCells"
Interscope Records
By Todd Rezsnyak on Sep. 12th, 2007
Blaqk Audio is a side project made up of AFI members Jade Puget and Davey Havok. They discovered their mutual love of '80s synth-pop and dance and decided to cut an album paying homage to those influences. "CexCells" is the result, and it is excellent. From opener "Stiff Kittens" 
(a pulsing, danceable rock track) to "Snuff on Digital" (a straight-up dance song), to "Again, Again and Again," Blaqk Audio takes the largely dismissed electronica genre and gives it some credibility beyond the dance floor. But the disc isn't all fast-paced dance numbers. "Bitter for Sweet" and "The Fear of Being Found" are both darker ballads, while the more uptempo "Semiotic Love" isn't really made for dancing. You won't listen to this disc multiple times because of the easy dance grooves or danceable beats; you'll listen to it again because it's damned good.
(a pulsing, danceable rock track) to "Snuff on Digital" (a straight-up dance song), to "Again, Again and Again," Blaqk Audio takes the largely dismissed electronica genre and gives it some credibility beyond the dance floor. But the disc isn't all fast-paced dance numbers. "Bitter for Sweet" and "The Fear of Being Found" are both darker ballads, while the more uptempo "Semiotic Love" isn't really made for dancing. You won't listen to this disc multiple times because of the easy dance grooves or danceable beats; you'll listen to it again because it's damned good. 
User Comments
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Trip on September 25th, 2007
Hey Todd - I , unfortunately, do not share your same sentiments about this album. While I appreciate what Jade and Davey are doing I do not feel that this album pays much homage to the genre. To me it reeks of major label influence. It sounds cheesy and contrived and is severely absent of anything original, which is what the, as you accurately stated, often dismissed genre of electronica has always been about. It is a genre that is all about doing something different. Now some may argue that I am biased since I am in fact in a local electronica band that is pretty much underground, but I have been doing the band thing for over 2 years in this genre and every time we have been to a music conference or had any contact with the "industry" we have been told how much the record labels want to push electronica again. They want to revive the genre and it seems perfectly plausible that they would use these two, already big names, in order to fulfill their agenda. It's a sham,e because there is plenty of fresh and exiting acts out there who are WAY better than the Blaq Audio duo.
james on November 13th, 2007
depeche mode rip off
lindsay on February 21st, 2008
it's actually very brave what they're doing, and it's not bad either. they do it because they love it and nothing can ruin that. i saw them in boston in september, and they were amazing.
and fyi, james, they are huge fans of depeche mode.
x.
Denk on April 3rd, 2008
It sounds refershing! Yes, they do owe a lot to Depeche Mode. And no body is better than electronic rock than DM, but still blaq audio is very good. This will keep us satisfied until the next Depeche Mode album comes out in Late 2008.