MonarchyMercury **

You can't fault Monarchy when it comes to marketing ruses. The British duo created a buzz by gigging at the Cape Canavarel space centre in Florida and remixing everyone from Ellie Goulding to Kelis, all the time maintaining an enigmatic, mysterious air by keeping their real identities under wraps. Alas, however, they come unstuck with their own tunes, which are surprisingly lightweight and overwhelmingly dull. Monarchy's synth-pop is all style (1980s shoulder-pads mostly) and no substance, an inconsequential barrage of reheated ideas that weren't so smart when OMD and Howard Jones were using them the first time around. The only saving grace is a remix of Holy Ghost's Love Get Out of My Way. It would have been so much better had Monarchy spent more time working in the studio than brainstorming marketing ideas. See monarchysound.com

Download tracks:Love Get Out of the Way