There’s new blood on the Goth scene- his name is Anders Manga, and that’s good news for anemic music-vamps. I think this is a name you’re going to hear a lot in the future, so you better get used to it. So just who IS this Anders Manga, anyway? Well, if you’re addicted to Gothic music, go to Goth festivals and conventions and read the Goth publications, you just may already know. Hailing from Charlotte, North Carolina, Anders Magna is getting out of the coffin and doing what has to be done to take a bite out of the world of musical darkness. Already garnering a "Best Band Award" nominee by Gothic Beauty magazine, Manga has 3 previous albums under his belt, and he’s only been actively around since 2005! So how does the brand spankin’ new "Blood Lush" stack up? Well, I’ll tell you... .

Beginning with the title track, "Blood Lush" is a platform boot goth club stomper that has all the elements in place to make it a classic. Simple, effective, yet interesting enough to hold your attention. Great opening track that screams for a remix. Not only a memorable chorus, but a nice little bridge too. The music has been labeled "Gothtronica"- synths and drum machines are the primary musical backdrop for Anders’ baritone vocals. (Think Sister’s – Andy Eldritch crossed with The Mission’s- Wayne Hussey - minus the pretension, a dash of Peter Murphy and a drop of American Southern-Gothic.) Manga’s production seems to have improved a good deal over the early material delivering a lot more punch. The synths are raw and hot when they need to be ("Taste of Euphoria", "At Dawn They Sleep") and the arrangements, simple though they are, push Anders’ vocals out to the forefront. I checked out a couple of his videos on his website, and if that’s any indication, this guy has a truckload of presence, and that’s important in this genre. There’s a lot of Numanesque analogue sounds on "Blood Lush", which is great, but the one area that lacks is in the percussion. Sometimes it just sounds too much standard workstation drum-machine programming, and that’s a bit of a liability. On one slow song – "Sleeping (In the Fire)", I felt that Manga’s voice was reaching on the verses, but a strong chorus made up for it. A far cry from the strongest track here, but I appreciate the effort. A better slow track is "Science Fiction" with a cool 80’s style arrangement.

Lyrically, Anders Manga ought to please the dressed in black crowd- nothing too deep, but suitable for a night at The Castle, The Church, Slimelight, Dark Area, Salvation, Purgatory, Decadence, The Haunt, Sanctuary, Requiem, or whatever your local goth club happens to be called. Not every song on this CD is a winner (there’s a bit of filler here and there), but there’s enough strong material to make it worth a purchase. I think with a bit more time and attention to the percussive aspects and more songs like some of the stronger ones that have killer hit potential, Manga’s next release could be unstoppable. In the meantime, I’d recommend a purchase because when it comes to Gothtronica, good new CDs are few and far between.