Depeche Mode - "Only When I Lose Myself" (Mute)
This single is a forerunner to Depeche Mode's soon-to-be-released singles collection (their second) and hopefully marks the end of an era. Not that there's anything really 'wrong' with this - the lush strings of the title track, with vocals by Martin Gore; the vaguely trip-hop noir "Surrender", with Dave Gahan back at the mike; the heavy electro instrumental "Headstar": are all vintage Depeche Mode - pristine and note-perfect. That's the problem, DM's position as the elder statesmen of dark electro is now firmly established, but there is a risk of them becoming stale and irrelevant. The compilation should clear the decks in preparation for a fresh direction. We live in hope.

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Oneyed Jack - "Le Cholera"(Yelen)
French industrial hip-hop - sounds horrible, but it definitely is not. "La Cholera" bursts out of the speakers with shit-heavy beats, looped power-chords, mixed-up noise and rap like you've never heard before - hard, fast, distorted and in French! The remix slows things down with an almost trancey backing which the same lyrics (I think) are much slower and audible. Then it breaks out again with "You shouldn't" - like a hip-hop mix of an industrial track. This time the vocals are in French and English, but they're so deep in the mix, they're really hard to make out. Finally "African Queen" is a dub number, mixing hip-hop, heavy techno and trance - a strange mix of sounds that doesn't really go anywhere. France hasn't produced many great musicians, but in techno and hip-hop, there are some artists who are really trying to do something new. Anyway, a break from foreign artists singing in bad English is always welcome.

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Waylander - "Reawakening Pride Once Lost"(Century Media)
Druidic/Pagan/Celtic metal and folk fusion - this band has a shit-load of potential and some great musicians. The inspired mix of tin-whistle and metal axe-work is very successful, creating what could be the Horselips of the new millennium. The beats infect you, while the whistle lifts you to a new level with the guitars adding a viciously hard edge to it all. When it is good it is very, very good, but, unfortunately, there is one major flaw - the vocals. On the outstanding tracks - "Sunrise", the ancient Irish traditional piece "King of the Fairies" and the beautiful "Gaelic Dawn", the droning minimalist vocals compliment the music perfectly. There are also some good vocal sections in the tracks "Emain Macha", "A Hero's Lament" and "Awakening", but there is a dreadful tendency to lapse into a very dated death/black metal style of yelling, that lays waste to the subtlety of the music. There is a great amount of potential here, but they do need to move beyond the narrow metal genre they seem stuck in. One to watch.
**** Interesting point of trivia - in the distant past, Waylander's whistle player and I were in a band together, Boladh (the Irish for smell). We were generally regarded as the worst band in Dublin, if not the world. Haven't we both come very far?
(Sub-editor note: We at Sordid swear that Girl the Goth has not compromised his journalistic integrity in the writing of this review.)

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Box Office Poison - "Mysteries"(Future Legend)
There is a strong Heroes"-era Bowie influence here, with a sax running through the slightly noir versions of "Mysteries". The multi-lingual tracks (there are French and Spanish versions of "Mysteries" along with the English) echoes the different versions of "Heroes", but there's more to this than a Bowie rip-off. There's a slightly Eastern feel to it as well, and the breathless vocals on "Mysteries" have a Gainsberg/Enigma feel about them, while the stronger vocals have a very '80s electro vibe. "Getting Thru the Day", on the other hand, is a disjointed piece with an indie dance sound and Gitane Demone-esque vocals. In all, a rather mixed bag of styles that glides along nicely, but seems a bit confused at times. A bit more decisiveness would be good, there's no need to run the gamut of styles in each song.

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Gitane Demone - "Am I Wrong?" (Apollyon)
Long regarded as one of the greatest talents in Gothdom, Gitane Demone was the light to Valor's dark at one classic stage of Christian Death history. Here, she shows the full capabilities of her individual vocal style, transcending all boundaries, mixing gospel, cabaret, classical, folk and the obvious Goth styles to create a collection that has a far broader appeal than simply to Goths. "Angel in my Head" kicks it all off, a quirky floaty piece with layered vocals is reminiscent of her Christian Death stuff, but far less oppressive. "Living on Velvet" is a magnificent medieval influenced piece, while the title track is what Marianne Faithful would sound like if she could actually sing. As the CD progresses, Gitane purrs, growls and sings with an ability that would knock the socks off most of the female singers that infest the charts. The music back her up perfectly, ranging from electro to acoustic. Goths are not let down by the brooding and menacing "Lose This Gravity", the atmospheric "Alien", or the heavy shit screech of "My Classic Ego", while "Despairiosity" and "Obituaire (Naked)" are classic cabaret worthy of Parisian night-clubs. If there was any justice in the world, Gitane Demone would kick seven shades of shit out of the giraffe-woman, Celine Dion, and show her how its really done, but for now she still belongs to us. Enjoy.

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Love Like Blood - "Snakekiller"(Hall of Sermon)
The first, and coolest, thing about this CD is that it's black. Super-Goth or what? Unfortunately, this has led to some problems getting it to play, but all problems can be overcome and it is just so cool! This is the first release of Love Like Blood's second decade and it shows a great future ahead. This is Goth through and through - power-chords, meaty bass-lines and full-on vocals. It starts off with the intro piece "Into the Snake Pit" before the powerhouse "Pale Sky" thunders in. "Phrases" is slower, a lumbering monster of a track, with a magnificent melodic chorus featuring great female backing vocals. The title track is a fast melodic piece; "Whispering Memories" builds slowly into a brooding Goth onslaught, while "Ylene" is Sisters-esque, with a hypnotic vocal, backed by more female vocals. And on it goes, the best word for this CD is 'power'. The Germanic vocals, paired with an instrumental onslaught and the complimenting female vocals burst out of the speakers, grab you by the throat and shake you. The one flaw is the slightly fractured nature of the music, due to the use of guest musicians. At times, the styles vary a bit too much. A more homogenised style would improve it a little. But that's just a minor flaw in an otherwise enjoyable CD. Here's to another 10 years.

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Spindle Shanks - "Spindle Shanks" (---)
This CD can only be described as uneventful, though in the best possible sense. There is little change from one track to the next, 10 songs featuring a simple combination of full-sounding keyboards and beautiful vocals, with the odd dash of percussion here and there. The sound floats by from start to end, with changes in mood, from light to dark, merely adding texture. This is a CD that fills the air with music that floats by pleasantly for the best part of an hour. There are no real surprises, this is music to chill out and relax to. It's hard to do it justice with words, but it is well worth checking out.

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Mass Hysteria - "Respect (to the dancefloor)" (Yelen)
Another French band mixing a wide variety of music together to create a powerful combination. From the fucked-up indus-disco of the title track, through the techno-metallic melody of "Hell-side" and the two mixes of "Donnez-Vous La Peine" - the first full of break-beats, guitars, yelling, samples and what sounds like a fiddle; the second a lot more drum based, using tribal drums and a snare a la Therapy? in the good old days. Again, it is nice to hear French artists performing in a language in which they are comfortable and confident. Fuck cultural colonisation, let's have a lot more of this kind of diversity.

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Various - "anchorage elektro vol. 1"(Magnetic Resonance)
Four tracks from four Canadian dark electro bands. Crack Machine's "Oblivion" trundles along on a trancey path, but doesn't really go anywhere. Not bad, but a dreadful opener for a sampler disc like this. Bytet's "Mary, Mary" is much better, a spacey techno piece with a disjointed, almost reggae vocal that is strongly distorted and nicely eclectic. Lady of Darkness' "Body Work" is a light blippy little piece with barely audible vocals popping up here and there. Refreshingly up-beat. Finally, Parallaxl's "Sacrifice" sounds kind of like Jane's Addiction remixed by GOD (the band, not the deity) - a very messy mix-mash of samples, screams and squeals that unfortunately misses the musical aspect and sounds like a load of noise. In all, a nice little taster of a rather out of the way electro scene.

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Breath of Life - "Sweet Party" (Hall of Sermon)
This entire CD is based on a simple set of electro drum sequences on which are laid moody bass-lines, guitars that range from jangly to feedback and a strong organ sound. But, it is the vocals that truly give BoL their character. Seriously high-pitched, almost sqeaky singing, often at a level that would make Kate Bush jealous. This could be incredibly annoying, but thankfully it is absolutely brilliant. The vocals have an almost operatic complexity, matched with very catchy songs (even though helium would be necessary to sing along). "Sweet Party" is hypnotic, the songs stream in your ears and spiral blissfully inside your head. Styles include the heavy electro "Their Xanadu", the more atmospheric "Sweet", the fast, mental spin of "Keeping Myself" and the more Gothic "The Wind". But above all is that voice, which blends all the tracks into a sublime tapestry of sound. Brilliant.

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Penis Flytrap - "Tales of Terror" (Bloody Dagger)
It's pretty obvious from their name that this band is not to be taken seriously. The songs back that assumption up perfectly. This is a punk-rock outfit wearing bad Goth gear and singing daft horror rock songs. "Cemetery Girl" and the screechy "Tears of Blood" sound like L7 doing Alice Cooper covers. "I Wait" is bassier, with an attempt at Black Sabbath-esque doom. Then it's back to the Riot Grrrlie sound until the final track, "Dracula's Daughter", which is totally ridiculous and almost indescribable. Add to that some pretty bad production and what have you got? Surprisingly, a collection of entertaining, fun tracks. In a world of po-faced Goth bands, it's nice to hear someone having a bit of a laugh at Goth-dom's expense. This is completely daft, but listenable in a punk-rock Ramones kind of way.

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Grace Overthrown - "Serial Killer Dragons and Gothic Elves" (Suisonic)
In the first issue I reviewed a demo of "Rolled Into One" and "Child", both of which are on this CD. At the time I lamented the lack of production. Unfortunately, the finished product isn't much of an improvement. The songs are of pretty good quality, but the mix is awful - the music sounds tinny and the vocals sit on top as if they weren't actually part of the songs. It is a great pity, because with some high quality remixing, this band could be big. "Rolled Into One" is still a super-bitchy number, "Love You Anyway" is a punchy indus number, "Dark Seed" is another heavy electro piece, while "Child" has more power than the demo version, though thankfully retains that early Berlin sound. Finally, "Sound Like Freak" is darker, a pounding beat and piano mixed with a Gothic vocal performance. Would somebody please sign this band and give them the use of a good producer? Pretty please, it's worth it.

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Various - "Diva X Machina 2" (COP Intl)
This is a girls on top compilation, goth/indus bands with female vocalists (supposedly) and it is a cracking collection. In comparison to the boys, the girls seem to have a better idea of melody and the growling and shouting is at a minimum. There are no bad tracks on this, though in a very un-feminine way, it climaxes far too soon. "Darkness" by 162 is fabulous - operatic vocals over a complex and sweeping techno classical backing. This mix is an improvement on the sparse original, bringing out the full quality of the track. The only problem is that this, the first track, is also the best. However, things don't go downhill too much, Magenta's full techno melody, "One Mind", Battery's electro "The Betrayal" and Sabotage's trancey "No Escape" are not let-downs at all. Luxt keep up the pace until Lucid Dementia's quirky "Twisted" throws up a big surprise, a very original track! There is a slight hitch with the inclusion of Clan of Xymox' "Hypocrite". This is a good track, but they don't normally have a female vocalist, now do they? (I should know, I reviewed their CD last issue.) And after that, Hanzel and Gretyl's environmentally conscious industrial dance track "Plediadian Agenda" is fine, but is that really a woman on vocals? Evulva are next, and that's definitely a woman on the Curve-esque "Dive". Tapping the Vein's "Butterfly" starts off very Cranes-like, but then bursts into a yell that would scare the shit out of your average navel gazer. Kickin'! This Ascension add more Goth before the RaZor Skyline go all electro, Kirlian Camera go all atmospheric and soundtracky until finally, Ivoux (Ivo?) go all 4AD on "Sif", a mix of techno and a powerful atmospheric vocals. Fair balls to the ladies, this is probably the best compilation around.

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Machine in the Garden - "underworld"(Deus Ex Musica)
The Machine in the Garden (or 'Lawnmower' as a friend called them) are probably the most highly educated Goth band around. Between the two members there is a lot of expert knowledge on music and culture, which they put to great use on "underworld". Over 16 tracks, they run the gamut of music styles that make up the dark-side of music and do so with incredible skill. The first six tracks follow the same basic formula, ethereal music with synth music that washes over you and magnificent vocals that fill your head. "corpus christi (love will die)" has Roger Frace joining Summer Bowman for a light and shade harmony piece reminiscent of Dead Can Dance, while the DCD influence continues on the dark rhythm driven "shadowy depths". With "primevil" the ethereal elements disappear to be replaced with a driving electro-Goth sound, leading into the Sisters influenced "cut me" which features an incredibly imaginative mix of industrial beats and acoustic guitar. "dark splintered heart (mutation engine)" is pure industrial dance with a complete change in the vocals, as they're heavily distorted, leading into the even dancier "crygods (mind overdrive)" a dub piece that mixes some of the earlier ethereal sounds. The 'eerie glow' mix of "cut me" which replaces the original music with an atmospheric techno soundscape. "Altered Form" speeds up the ethereal sound of the original "Final Form" to create a brighter, dancier piece. And "cold" wraps it all up with a 100% Goth sound - droning vocals, medieval influenced music with a crystal clear arrangement. This CD really has it all, tying up the most of the disparate elements that make up today's dark-side music, referencing numerous bands along the way, but producing something fresh, often innovative and incredibly diverse. This CD will appeal to a wide variety of people and is a perfect overview of the current trends.

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Sabot - "[sabo]"(Null Pointer)
Glenn Hughes, ex-Deep Purple, goes Goth - shock, horror! OK, maybe not, Sabot's guitarist is, I presume, a different Mr. Hughes. On to the music then - lush keyboards, tribal drums, acoustic guitars, saxophone and vocal harmonies. This is tender, melodic and beautiful. At times, as on "Pearl" when the three vocals come together - one male, two female - the sound is, as the lyrics go, 'fragile' and blissful. Again, on "Circles", the plaintive vocals and the simple piano sound form a gossamer web of music. Even where the sound becomes more forceful, as on "Sleep", there is still a softness to it that is very seductive. Sabot mix a variety of styles - Goth, choral, jazz, even folk - in a seamless fashion. [sabo] is a wonderful CD that fills your head, sends shivers up the spine and tugs at the heartstrings. Beautiful.

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Numb - "Desire/Blind Remixes"(KK)
I reviewed the original versions of these tracks in the first issue, so you know what I thought of them. This CD contains five different mixes of "Desire". The first two do little or nothing with the tracks, the addition of the odd techno blip, beep and beat is about the extent of the remixing. The Black Lung mix, in comparison, bears virtually no resemblance to the original - it's Black Lung through and through. The Mershell Mix is a beefed-up industrial version, but unfortunately the vocals are left mostly intact. Lastly there's the original. The two "Blind" mixes, the first a rave/industrial crossover and the second is a dark trancey piece, but both have the same fault - the vocals are still left intact. Finally, new track "Auto-Erotic" is like "Blood Meridian", experimental and complex electro/indus that's let down by the growling vocals. If you like numb, there's enough diversity to keep you happy. If, like me, you don't, avoid.

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Canister - "Blame" (Sanction)
In three simple words - this is dreadful. Lots of shouting, off-key attempts at singing and dreadfully amateurish music. Avoid at all costs.

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Clay People - "Clay People" (Slipdisc)
Warning - whatever the Clay People were, this ain't techno, indus or electro. This is the sound of a heavy techno band recording powerhouse metal. Like Ministry before them, Clay People have replaced the synths and sequencers with guitars, bass and drums. Unlike "Filth Pig", however, this is a classy album. Here we have the clinical precision of the techno artist applied to the style of groove-based power metal, once played by bands like Pantera, White Zombie, Corrosion of Conformity or Sacred Reich. The techno elements aren't all gone, they now form part of the overall sound - vocal distortion, drum loops and synth sounds are mixed in with the more traditional instruments to create a style that is all their own. 11 tracks of brutal, full on power, that isn't lacking in melody. The precision of the Clay People has every single element perfectly placed, they even shout well! This is highly recommended if you want a break from the general, computer dominated sound.

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Hope Blister - "...smile's ok"(4AD)
Ivo Watts-Russell's new project is both a sequel to and a continuation of This Mortal Coil. A more streamlined set-up featuring the heavenly vocals of the Coil graduate Louise Rutkowski replaces the eclectic and ever-changing line-up and sound of the Coil. This is a collection of covers done the way covers should be done. The Ivo stamp is all over this in the pristine production of the synths and strings music. Listen to it on headphones and it seems as if the vocals are coming from inside your head as the music surrounds you. The songs include an ethereal version of Heidi Berry's "Only Human", a dark take on Gus Gus' "Is Jesus Your Pal" that is streets ahead of anything they've done, a full on strings version of Eno's "Spider and I" that descends into distortion worthy of Lou Reed, and a seriously layered vocal on "Hanky Panky Nohow" originally by another Velvet, John Cale. But really, the Hope Blister could sing the phone book and still sound great. There are no surprises here for This Mortal Coil fans, though the diversity of that collective will be missed. However, the more solid set-up here might, if we're lucky, lead to more regular releases and perhaps some gigs - please!

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Shroud - "A Dark Moon Night" (Magpie)
After the slightly indie sound of their previous release, the Shroud go all out Goth on this one. So, in true pretentious style, why not discuss the artwork. The CD is quite lovely, all medieval with gold script lettering, photos of the band in very luscious black clothing posing around an orange velvet couch. Then there's a great tinted B&W pic of Lydia holding a book in which she looks quite beautiful and mysterious. Oh, so you want to know about the music? Some people have no style. Well, it's quite good actually, all floaty and twirly with some very ethereal sounds and a strong vocal performance by the afore-mentioned Lydia. It's undeniably Goth, kind of what All About Eve would have recorded if they really had been a Goth band (which we all know they weren't). They even have the titles right, with songs like "Pixy-led" and "Where the Wind Goes" and "Madeleine" (a much more Goth name than the Sisters' "Alice") and the quintessentially Gothic "Prophecy". Basically, this is Goth. If you like melodic dark music with nice vocals and quality musicianship, you'll like this. If not, WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU READING SORDID FOR, YOU PLONKER?

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Contingence- "Dominion" (Deprogrammed)
This is music for a post-apocalyptic sci-fi movie. Listening to this, you can almost see Sigourney running from aliens, or Arnie terminating to his heats content, or Harrison Ford shooting at Rutger Hauer. It's dark, it's sample-laden and it's highly technological. Even the titles sound like sci-fi films - "Synopsis II.C5.IX-V", "the Schismatist" and "Bioconfigurations". The lyrics are about government conspiracies, technological overlords and the fact that the future will, of course, be dark, violent and without hope (I got all that from the sleeve-notes, because the lyrics are fairly indecipherable). It's all very well done, an industrial Future Sound of London if you like, but it is rather heavy going. Bright and happy it is not, nor is it exactly original - this kind of stuff has been done over and over by people like Ministry, Killing Joke and Xorcist. But, as I said, it is well done and it's a hell of a lot better than those industrial bands who think a few loops, sequencers and a lot of shouting do a good industrial track make. The samples are well chosen as well. This is worth a listen, but won't set the world alight.

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Bad Sector - "Plasma" (Old Europa Cafe)
This is an Italian experimental CD of ambient music based around the sounds of a variety of electronic equipment. It has, of course, been done many times before, but surprisingly, this isn't half-bad. The thing is, Bad Sector have remembered to add some musical structure. The blips, whirrs and bleeps are laid on top of a very dark and powerful synth backing. It's actually fairly hypnotic if you follow the instructions and play the CD very loud. The odd distorted yell and the building synths give this a very futuristic sci-fi feel, it's like the sounds of a future technological hell, which is surprising because the electronic equipment used is museum standard. An interesting piece that shows that it is possible to make this stuff listenable.

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Various - "Futronik Structures Vol. 2"(DSBP)
18 tracks by futuristic electro/heavy techno/industrial bands. A rather daunting prospect, many of these compilations contain a lot of unlistenable tracks, and 18 are a lot to take at one go. However, it starts off well, Implant's "Brainstorm" is a groovy, sample-heavy number. Idiot Stare keep it going with a driving drum n' bass influenced piece. Biopsy nearly ruin it with some bad growling vocals, but the heavy dance mix of "Disgust" drowns them out. SMP and Ionic beef up some '80s style electro while Violet Black Orchid set phasers to mind-fuck with a techno-Goth number that is anything but "Silence". Product B's "Burning Sin" is one of those shouty techno things that are truly irritating. Diverje's "system failed" is a super-fast piece of inspired lunacy. Any Questions? Make great use of a variety of samples in the noisy "Lousy Human", while Noxious Emotion go dance with the electro-Goth groove of "Neural Surge (v.20)". Bytet are obviously on a planet all of their own if the quirky tribal ditty "Modern Ritual" is anything to go by. At the same time, it's an enjoyably light piece, before the dark techno returns in Side 3'' pounding "Solemn", which suffers from the shouty syndrome, as do the electro Kremaster and the slightly Goth I, Parasite. The Man go all Depeche Mode on "Give Me Your Youth", while Con are almost pop on the melodic "Kill Yourself". X On Mind wrap things up with the quality trance "Psychal Storms" - mix of blips, beeps and samples. All in all, this is a compilation that has a bit of everything and quite a few tasters of a promising future for the techno genre; it's just a pity about the shouting.

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Various - "amduscias"(Zenflesh)
This compilation of 'post-industrial' electro experimentation starts well with the funky, psychedelic-influenced track by mike czech, but then things go completely haywire with a bunch of sound FX mixes. "sweet cling" by mh yau sounds like one of the fillers from Bowie's "Outside", job's "dystopia" is simply noise, the instagon track sounds like a band tuning up in a forest. Flapper's is a little better with its dark trance vibe, but after that the CD descends into feedback and noise until the thirteenth track, a folky song by la hannya that seems totally out of place. This is followed by a pretty cool drum n' bass track by Kiosk with a kind of traditional ballady vocal. Then the noise returns and drones on and on until the end. The odd good track does not save this compilation from being unbelievably boring.

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Ringtailed Snorter - "look back in the mirror" (COP Intl & Zoth Ommog)
This is a compilation of some old material by X Marks the Pedwalk's Sevren Ni-Arb, recorded around five years ago. The first three tracks are fairly up-beat electro with a dark, Gothic twist in the breathless vocals. Things get a lot darker with the sample-laden "Deal in Sex". This dark vein flows through the EBM-style "A Kind of Loss" with its nice bit of Twin Peaks-esque synths. "The Cold Room" is a brooding techno-Goth piece. "Mirror" is a lighter electro piece followed by the dancey "Until Now" and "Window 1". "Childlike" features an atmospheric choral vocal, while "Deprivation" makes great use of an electric piano and some shit-heavy beats. "Influence" wraps it all up with a slow, moody and atmospheric vibe. This stuff is far too good to be lost in history and shows how little this form of music has progressed since the early '90s, with only a few exceptions. Well worth the reissue.

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Orifice - "Gollywoggle"(Opaline)
Orifice play the kind of music Siouxsie & the Banshees used to do, but haven't in a long time. Dark moody pop-punk with edgy female vocals and a strong rhythm section. That's about all I can say, most of these songs would not have seemed out of place on "The Scream", "Join Hands" or "Kaleidoscope". Very professional and well done, but it is virtually Siouxsie and Co. through and through. It's well worth checking out if that's what you like, especially as Siouxsie Sioux don't do it like this anymore.

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turk knifes pope - "performance crippling data restriction"(Zenflesh)
Just one question, why? This is one track of noise. It buzzes, whirrs, booms and every now and again crashes. And that's it. An excruciatingly long piece of noise without even the merest hint of music. This has been done - Eno, Throbbing Gristle, Aphex Twin - have all done it, and it's still not worth listening to. There's nothing particularly bad about it, because there's really nothing there. Noise is not music, it needs rhythm, melody, something. Basically, this is the ultimate in ambient, and if it wasn't for the odd loud bit, it would be the cure for the insomnia that seemingly inspired.

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ennui - "ritual & dogma"(Seraph)
This CD was over seven years in the making and is truly a mixed bag of sounds. Opener "i hate you" is shite, a dreadful off-key attempt at doing what Throbbing Gristle did in their worst moments - unadulterated unlistenable noise. "malachi constant" is the exact opposite; Brendan Perry mixed with Depeche Mode at their mellowest. The 'noise mix' of "misery" is just that, bearing no relation to the original melodic version that follows it, which is 80s electro with some newer dance elements. "leaving" is a slow ballad piece, nice enough, but with more echoes of Depeche Mode and a little too middle of the road. "favourite day" has an over slow piano intro that is almost sleep inducing, and the acoustic guitar and whispered vocals are unlikely to wake you up. The slow and quiet stuff continues with "miscommunication" and by the time "melt" comes along, a track that could be the theme-tune to some family TV show, you're almost wishing for a bit of the earlier noise just to break the monotony. No such luck, "blooming sweetly" is Depeche Mode on valium and the Led Zep III-ish acoustic guitar that moves from the left speaker to the right and back isn't very exciting. Things finally pick up a bit with the electro soundscape "glass forest", but not really enough to jump up and down for. "blind" starts off promisingly with a techno beat but then the acoustic guitar kicks in with a poetry reading. Having probably put the average listener to sleep at this stage, ennui finally pick themselves up with the paranoid yelling of "gratitude", a tasty spacey bit of fucked-up electro. "faith" is refreshingly bizarre with some kind of apocalyptic revolutionary religious preaching, backed with an acoustic soundscape. "ritual & dogma" follows this well, a blippy, spaced-out ambient number that builds into a powerful atmospheric piece with distorted voices like something out of a sci-fi film. "i never loved you" is a return to the style of "i hate you", but this time is more like Throbbing Gristle when they got it right. This CD shows a progression from a tendency towards extremes on the first 11 tracks before finally pulling things together in a coherent and enjoyable style at the end. Ennui do have potential, but for fuck's sake, do they take a long time to get there. Someone to watch for in the future, they just haven't really got it r ight here.

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