Negative Nine Records

Reviewed by: Terrence Flamm

Chicago trio A New January successfully clones Depeche Mode, adds darker elements of goth and industrial music, and somehow keeps it all danceable. Using a variety of keyboards to maintain a steady beat, the band also offers haunting vocals and searing guitar playing. The cryptic lyrics create a sense of foreboding that occasionally boils over in more explicit songs like "Bleed" and "Witchling." Other tracks like "Change" and "Babble" deal with more conventional frustrations, but whatever the message, A New January delivers it with a strong sense of mood and melody.
- Illinois Entertainer

Reviewed by: Marcus Pan, Editor

Third album out from this Chicago-based electro/synthpop hybrid, After Clothes features the single of the same name with some other songs peppered about and salted with remixes of "After Clothes" - including one by Die Warsau's Jim Marcus. ANJ are a triplet consisting of Andre (vocals, keys, guitar), Chris (keys) and Kaven (keyboards & guitar).

Starting up in 1994 with a cassette release entitled Bleached Out Bubble Bath, the band decided to continue playing as A New January and released their first CD, Patchwork Shadows, two years later. The path shown between Bath and Shadows clearly shows the band moving deeper into a heavier sound, beginning with a new wave style in the earlier years and ending now with After Clothes (1998) which adds elements of heavier industrial and more elaborate electronica and rock influences.

In the spring of this year, you can expect Cold and Naked; a full-length already in post-production. Here the line-up changes a bit and replaces Kaven with Rich (keys, guitars, backing vocals). Look forward to an even heavier and more complicated A New January, judging by the path they're traveling thus far.

After Clothes is a fine release, even with four out of nine songs being "After Clothes". You'll however note that most of the mixes offered are distinctive and fresh. All retain some semblance of the original. The Jim Marcus remix for example adds a bit of bass-line funkiness and ups the complication on the rhythm. Meanwhile the Raw version takes the song into a more computer-driven stance, with highly controlled guitar riffwork and electro noodling. While the original song's melody is hidden and subtle, it is nonetheless there and is recognizable as "After Clothes".

Other offers here include "Virtues"; a laid back piece with hypnotic vocals and smooth movements. None of this song is power hungry and instead retains a melodic background with only occasional heavier rhythm additions used for a grounding effect. "Green" meanwhile opens with interesting fat-back drums and rolls into a smooth, mellow piece with surrounding metallic clicks and bubbling synths. A piano (like) is added to the mix along with vocals, relying on a disturbing flat-note clashing style that makes an interesting arrangement. They wrap up After Clothes with a live version of "Forever in a Day".

I liked this CD. Usually when I get EPs that masquerade as LPs, with one or two songs mixed up a number of times throughout so the end result is you're getting really five new singles, I find myself wanting more and being a little disappointed. With After Clothes the title track remixes are distinctive and different, yet still retain the right to be called "After Clothes". With exceptional tracks like the disturbing and clashing arrangement of "Green", After Clothes has a lot to offer. And keep an eye out for the forthcoming Cold and Naked as well.
- Legends Magazine

Reviewed by: Toxin, Managing Editor

Electronic music with roots in synth-pop and gothic you cannot overlook Chicago's A New January. I have never heard of this band before, but with their sound on After Clothes, a release from 1998, they are able to convince me of their quality.

The CD contains 9 songs that can be classified as powerful synth-pop with influences of EBM and danceable electronics and dark, gothy atmospheres.

Typical for this genre are the clear male vocals that push the sound a lot. Tracks like "Virtues" or "Partially Unbroken" are good examples for the melodic power of the band. Catchy refrains make the songs warm and exciting.

The title-track "After Clothes," appears in 4 different versions and is worth to eb used as a title-track. In the original mix, the spherical vocals with a dreamy but bombastic refrain are carried by some wild synth attacks and a fast, straight beat. The remixes are interesting alternatives and round-up this release.

A New January is a promising band and I am looking forward to their new album that should still be released this year.
- The New Empire

Reviewed by: GunHed

Cold and Naked contains popish coldwave tracks with influences from goth, synth-pop and drum 'n bass. A New January is in the vein of such acts as Crocodile Shop or Razed in Black. Sonically, the album is recording bliss, tons of juicy complex drum patterns and crisp polished sounds. I especially loved the moodiness of the instrumental "Jaded," the emotionality of "Drown," and even the new wave drum 'n bass workover of The Cure's "Just Like Heaven." If you like your synth-pop with a touch of electronica and processed guitars, A New January is for you.
- Wet-Works Electro Zine

A New January return with their second full-length CD, following the Patchwork Shadows CD and the After Clothes EP. This 2003 album finds the band even more polished than ever before, with their unique guitar laden brand of electro-pop/electro-punk fine tuned and showing even more skillful songwriting than in previous efforts.

As with previous efforts, the songs tend to be very dark in focus and atmosphere, with at times some disturbing imagery used in the lyrics. However, the language doesn't use profanity (but there is some very, very edgy language here) this time out, at least that I could detect.

A New January has always been a band I have to be in the right mood to properly appreciate. Their gritty, raw and intense approach is usually suited to a similar mood, though I can appreciate it also when in a good mood... it just takes a bit more effort on the part of the listener, I think.

Standout songs "Take It From Me", "Shape Your Tongue" and "Tooms" are excellent, hard hitting songs that are undeniably memorable. But for all those who say that there isn't enough electronic music out there with an edge: You need to give ANJ a listen. You will quickly change your mind. This is a very solid and enjoyable album, very much worth your time. The lyrical edginess would mean you probably won't want to play this around the kids, but it's still a very good album.

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5.
- Synthpop.NET

Reviewed by: Fred Thom

Forging its catchy melodies and angst-driven lyrics in rich textures bathed in industrial, synthpop and new wave, on Cold and Naked, Chicago-based A New January have created a sophisticated and solid piece.

In the tradition of a city known as the birthplace of industrial, A New January don't try to follow the trends, sticking to what they like, sounds from the 80's and 90's that are updated with today's technology. At a time when 80's music is more influential than ever, Cold and Naked goes beyond the simple exercise of nostalgia, the band's longtime distinctive approach having resulted in the creation of their own signature sound.

Complex drum patterns, light guitars, cold wave keyboards and neo-romantic harmonies blend to create a very fluid and seductive music. The opening tracks, the infectious "Take it From Me" and "Worlds Are Breaking Down", perfectly represent the band, sophisticated and melodious, taking over where the precedent EP After Clothes had left us. Intertwined between the two musical genres, Cold and Naked slightly balances between industrial--Shape Your Tongue", "Pushing" and "Tooms"--and smooth electro-pop--the moody "Uncreate" and "Drown"--melodies always remaining at the core. Techno, another musical current associated with the image of the windy city, hasn't been forgotten with instrumentals such as "Transparent".

While the assimilated rather than carbon copied influence of some bands such as Depeche Mode, NIN and early Moby is perceptible on Cold and Naked, quoting Cure directly with a cover "Just Like Heaven" was unnecessary, as it obviously cannot challenge the original, and should be limited to live performances. While bringing some kind of acknowledgment by their peers, the remix of "Take It From Me" by Martin Atkins (Pigface) is the only real faux-pas here, concluding in a pretty painful overdose of voice samples [on] an otherwise convincing album.
- Plume-Noire