Artist: Camouflage
Title: Greyscale
Genre: Synth Pop
Release Date: 6th March 2015
Label: Bureau B (Indigo)
Album Review
13 Shades Of Grey...
CAMOUFLAGE is not the most productive band in the world. Almost nine years passed since the last superb ‘Relocated’ album was released. That doesn't mean they are lazy as they toured a lot in the meantime, released ‘Archives #1’, a live DVD, re-mastered the all back catalogue, toured again... but it was about time to hear some new songs. The album starts with the already classic ‘Shine’ that has been performed on a couple of live shows recently. Clearly designed as a live anthem with its “oh oh ohhh”, the song is uplifting and bring some optimistic vibes “to light up the dark night”. The 2nd track, ‘Laughing’, continues on the positive feel (“Turn the winter into spring”) but on a darker mood musically and more mid tempo, driven by acoustic guitar (and a couple of electric by the end). A nice track, but not the strongest one, let's be honest. A kind of déja vu in the CAMOUFLAGE history. The outro is quite extended, reminding a bit of the ‘Spice Crackers’ experimental times.
It's really at the 3rd track that the album finally starts. Markus explores a different vocal range in the song ‘In the cloud’. And musically, I realize this band is quite unique. Synth-Prog would much better suit to their style as there's a true “progressive” feel to their music. They don't satisfy themselves with the three minutes format and had develop over the decades some textures, multi layered tracks that needs several listening to get all the clues. ‘Count On Me’ marks the friendship between Heppner and the band. The story obviously talks about being there for his friend. The two voices mixed up very well for this nice track. A melody that sticks to your brain for long after. Maybe a future single? ‘Greyscale’ is the traditional instrumental part of the album. It reminds a bit (some will say a lot) of DEPECHE MODE's kind of instrumentals from ‘Ultra’, ‘Exciter’ or ‘Playing The Angel’ eras. Do we have the intro of the next tour here? Very chilling out indeed. ‘Still’ is a very cinematographic track, with a lot of strings, almost a James Bond-esque mood to it.
‘Misery’ suddenly wakes up after this mid tempo sequence. Another future live classic. You can already hear the crowds singing the “Miseryyyy” part. ‘Leave Your Room Behind’ follows on the same path in a pure synth pop style and this melancholic style developed by the band for 30 years. Makes you dance with tears in your eyes and a smile on your face. ‘Light Grey’ is a small instrumental link leading to ‘If...’, certainly one of the highlights of this album. The powerful backing vocals on the chorus brings the track to a higher level, Markus’ performance is outstanding and the production is a masterpiece. ‘End Of Words’ is a kind of ‘How Do You Feel?’ (previous album) follow up. Even some sounds are similar. And it's superb let's be honest. The following three minutes instrumental ‘Dark Grey’ carries on the track, making the two mixed together, a eight minutes trip in CAMOUFLAGE melancholy. The album ends up on ‘I'll Find’. Sorry for the DM comparison... but the sounds really remind the production of ‘Playing The Angel’ and songs like ‘Macrovision’... which is absolutely not a critic from me. It's done brilliantly and the CAMOUFLAGE touch is there not to suffer the DM shadow that much.
Overall, a fantastic album. CAMOUFLAGE, like most of its peers (DE/VISION, AND ONE, HEPPNER..) is just like a good French wine: getting better years after years. After 30 years, the band is just at the top of their art. Excellence in songwriting, performance, production... So, let's savour this one as it will probably take another 5 years or so to hear some new songs.
Tracklist
01. Shine
02. Laughing
03. In The Cloud
04. Count On Me (feat Peter Heppner)
05. Greyscale
06. Still
07. Misery
08. Leave Your Room Behind
09. Light Grey
10. If...
11. End Of Words
12. Dark Grey
13. I'll Find
Line-up
Oliver Kreyssig
Heiko Maile
Marcus Meyn
Website
https://www.camouflage-music.de
Cover Picture
Rating
Music: 9
Sound: 10
Total: 9.5 / 10
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