A GUY CALLED GERALD
`Automanikk'
(CBS 4664821 /CD) * * *

THERE'S A right way and a wrong way. Last year, Cabaret Voltaire scandalised the Chicago House community when the promo
video they'd filmed there featured the Sheffield duo's new-found pals with their names unsubtly inscribed at the bottom of the screen.
Manchester's Gerald is a little more self-effacing. Undoubtedly, he's come on since his formative Rham! days, when 'Voodoo Ray' strolled from lo-tech obscurity to chart cross-over. 'Automanikk' is a quantum leap in contrast, a refinement of the elements on the debut LP, 'Hot Lemonade', and a hint that better is to come.

It's not immediate, but Gerald's moods are striking. Vocalist Viv gives a haunting slant to 'I Feel Rhythm' and 'Eyes Of Sorrow', but his own vocal (I presume) on 'I Won't Give In' is plain embarrassing. What 'Automanikk' has, though, is a neat sense of humour (a
goofy guest spot for Edward Barton for instance), that breaks the album's overall sterility and thankfully injects a little humanity into the machinery.

Derrick May's remix of 'FX' isn't too radical but the Techno influence is overwhelming; the title track, in particular, is staggeringly similar to Mickey Oliver's 'Anticipate', a hardcore Chicago dance cut that pre-empts Gerald's use of a digital voicebox. It would be hard to believe that Gerald hasn't heard it. Similarly, much of 'Automanikk' is just too close to its influences to really elevate itself. It's a strong British House album, but with barriers tumbling all the time, that's really nothing to shout about any more.

Damon Wise