Title: Hail to the Employee
Artist: Andreas Gross
Genre: Wave / Gothic / Electronic
Release Date: 12th September 2008
Label: Echozone
Album Review
‘Hail To The Employee’ already is the fourth album of German Gothic/Wave band ANDREAS GROSS whose discography dates back to 1998. Like its predecessor ‘Close To Home’, the new disc received quite some critical acclaim I the scene press and now we’re going to see if all that praise is justified…
The opener ‘Revealing’ unfolds a truly saddening mood working from a subtly viscous rhythm, adding forlorn piano and deep cello and when you hear that distinct bass chords you’re instantly reminded of a certain British band. The brittle voice of Tabitha Anders fluidly blends in with the mood though I think she could do better; she seems a little shy. With the next song ‘My Fears’ everything is stripped down to a core of ringing acoustic guitar, cello and vocals altogether making for the creation of a fragile aura that’s surrounding the track. On the chorus she lets herself go a little more and that sounds entirely different right away. ‘To Die For’ actually is a track by Canadian band THE BIRTHDAY MASSACRE and I was curious how a re-creation would sound like. Of course the small synth melody is instantly recognizable, but what I think makes this version so special is that skilfully arranged string part playing the main theme of the song in a way that is really moving and increasing the magical mood this melody had all along.
‘Lazarus Effect’ introduces unusually present an powerful electronic beats and a small random glitch yet it never gets into a realm you would consider obtrusive, besides, that smooth melodic flow comprising synthesized strings planes the edges to a certain extend and the polyphonic chant suits that song nicely. Almost without melody begins ‘Bloodkiss’ until vocals, synth strings and piano come in to accompany Tabitha’s vocals, but it’s that combined guitar/string arrangement I really love that track for. Later on that duo is complemented by the cello.
Was all that praise justified? In my case the answer is a definitive yes. Wonderful arrangements, especially the cello and string parts make up a big part of the magical atmosphere that is surrounding the songs. With a little more courage on the vocal front I think the next album could surpass this one.
Tracklist
01. Revealing – 4:02
02. My Fears – 3:02
03. To Die For – 5:22
04. Hopeful Despair – 4:51
05. Lazarus Effect – 3:18
06. Bloodkiss – 4:10
07. Everything – 3:51
08. Malfunction – 4:19
09. Hail To The Employee – 4:26
10. Under The Line (Remix) – 4:55
11. Lazarus Effect (Remix) – 4:10
Line-up
Monique Etges - Vocals
Tabitha Anders - Vocals, Guitar
Isabel Walter - Cello
Thomas Stumpf - Guitar
Peter Schilling - Guitar, Software
Andreas Gross - Synth, Sampling. Songwriting, Production
Website
http://www.nomorejazz.de/ / http://www.myspace.com/andreasgross
Cover Picture
Rating
Music: 8
Sound: 8
Extras: -
Total: 8 / 10
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