Invisible Limits

A Conscious State (Reviewed by wavemeister):

Invisible Limits 'A Conscious State', released in 1989 on Fun Factory!, Synthpop
Tracklist:

Golden Dreams
No Tears
Love Will Tear Us Apart
No Doubts
In A Dream
Kill Me Dearly
I Want You
Power To Survive
Natalie´s
Kill The Remix

In 1985, four young Germans (Thomas Luedtke/voc/kbds; Ralf Schauf/bass; Andreas Kuechenmeister/drums/kbds and Marion Kuechenmeister/voc) founded Invisible Limits, and they became almost immediately successful in the underground clubscene with 'Love Is A Kind Of Mystery' (1985) and 'Devil Dance' (1986).
After some arguments about the future direction of the sound, Thomas Luedtke left Invisible Limits to form his own project - Invincible Spirit. This project released some records, and 'Push!' became a clubhit and a classic in 1987.

Invisible Limits continued as a trio, and with their first album 'Demand For Supply' (1987), the basics were laid: a synthesis of fragile and sometimes sugarsweet melodies, whiplash electro rhythms, sawing guitar works and over all, the enchanting voice of Marion Kuechenmeister.
German critics and music magazines praised this album, and with the first concerts, they soon became also known in other parts of Europe, especially in Spain.

The release of 'A Conscious State' in 1989 showed clearly that the Limits refined their trademarks. The critics were overall positive, and the coverversion of Joy Division´s 'Love Will Tear Us Apart' found wide acclamations - and even a way into airplay.
'Golden Dreams' opens this album, a highly danceable uptempo track, and the following 'No Tears' won´t give any pause to take a breath.
'Love Will Tear Us Apart' is undoubtedly one of the best cover versions ever - while the melody is basically the same, the voice manage to lift this track from the deep depressive state of the original to a brighter level, almost with a shimmer of hope shining through.
'No Doubts' follows the direction of the opening track, adding a slight twist towards rock music. 'In A Dream' is a kind of instrumental with vocal fragments, but by no way a filler with it´s tense writing. 'Kill Me Dearly' will only kill you if you´re finally out of breath. 'I Want You' features an interesting guitar picking in a spanish style - a reverence to their fans in this country. 'Power To Survive' is slightly taken back in tempo, but still full of the energy which is the trademark of the whole record.
'Natalie's' is almost closing this record, with a long and serene intro which flows into a mid-tempo tune. 'Kill The Remix' is - as the title says - a remix of 'Kill Me Dearly'.

It´s rare that an album is thoroughly playable and enjoyable from the beginning to the end, filled with energy and tension. It doesn´t matter if you play it in order of tracks or random - just press the button and listen, dance or do both. The critics were absolutely right to label it 'an irresistable and highly danceable mixture of New Order and the Eurythmics', nonetheless sounding independent.
SPV rereleased it in 2000, and if you are lucky you can find a 5CD-box with all their releases for a reasonable price.