NZ Musician, 2010 Feb/Mar - by Bing Turkby

While it's no revelation to hear that a CD has been made without using a professional recording studio, it's still a bit of a novelty to have a performer insist on only using open-source software. Apparently the Weightless Music manifesto is all about the self-sufficiency of the composer/performer via portable computing. And while it can often be cool to use self-imposed limits to enhance your creativity, frankly it's all a little irrelevant to the listener, who is still going to judge the album on what it actually sounds like and whether it's interesting. In this case, the result is a trip back to '80s-era Pink Floyd/Depeche Mode, with lots of swirly keyboards, programmed drums and vocals in the style of 'melodramatic popular song' (as Vostok Lake themselves claim). It brings angsty visions of Alastair Riddell and Bowie, Kate Bush on downers, a not-quite-so-histrionic Roger Waters on The Final Cut. While the ethos is very punk, the resulting sound is very electro-pop.

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