Borrowing their name from a tragic figure from Greek mythology, this Argentine act serves up standard EBM with a novel twist: they get medieval on your ass, harnessing what they call "antique" music (mainly harpsichord riffs and baroque organ leads) and grafting those cobwebbed sounds onto the usual electro-danse programming. Additionally, in what almost seems to be an afterthought, Lamia throw some soprano and spoken word (courtesy of Claudia Rolando) into the mix, accentuating the music with a spike of sexuality.

The group's ideas pique interest, but on record Lamia doesn't quite pull it off. Strip away the sparkly babbles and Dark Angel dates itself -- and not "dates itself" in a cool way. I'm not sure the album's nods to Antler Subway and old Front 242 -- where flat, regimented sequencing and tinny production went hand in hand with being a pioneer -- are intentional, but their straightforwardly gothic nu-beat drizzle isn't going to invoke the dead, much less excite the pancake makeup and eyeliner crowd. The enigmatic Rolando has a compelling voice; she adds an ethereal, operatic element to the title cut, and her commanding narrative on "You'll Die" gives the track a spine-tingling Queen Of The Damned thrust. Responsibility for Lamia's stunted appeal appears to fall on the shoulders of Juan Andres Celasco, who's responsible for all the beats, keyboards and programming. With a little honing, the concept here could actually be something truly impressive -- but serious inspiration will be necessary for Lamia to matter.