Title: Anthology 1992-2010 (Best of double album)
Artist: !Distain
Genre: Electro
Release Date: 15th January 2010
Label: Deep Symmetry / Rough Trade
Album Review
Disc I
It's no mean feat to produce an anthology of over 30 songs covering an eighteen year period, but !DISTAIN have pulled it off very well with careful attention to track listings and presumably re-mastering because, however old the material, it all comes over as superb sound-wise. Kicking off the album is 'Dance in Heaven', the first of many songs in a similar style, followed by 'Strange Affection'. Despite this they are never boring, each one having enough of its own worth to make it worthy of inclusion. 'Confession' is far livelier than it's predecessors whilst 'Conversation Overkill' has a very retro feel to it, making one think of rain filled Vienna streets and all of the accompanying 80's style drama. It's a very classy track and one of the nicest on the whole double-album.
Great electronic wanderings start 'Remote control', again with a nice retro feel to it, whilst 'I beg for you' is far harder edged but still as catchy as hell. As previously said the sound quality is really very good across the board, but never more so than 'Promises' perhaps one of the better known tracks and a more subdued offering than anything that's gone before, but no less polished in it's production or performance. 'Tears of joy' is more contemporary in flavour, with a maturity of vocals and a nice feel to it 'Goddess of Spring' is one of the more unusual tracks, making use of water droplet sound effects and has a very relaxed flavour to it. 'Ladies and Gentlemen, our greatest, our most urgent need today, is a public understanding of the Communist conspiracy'... okay then, interesting first line to a song, but then this is 'America', and a really hefty driving beat wanders this along nicely with a reasonable attempt to address what RAMMSTEIN did with a same titled song.
'Sex’n’Cross' is somewhat darker and more interesting but still has the same great dancey vibe running through it that everything else has. 'The City' and ' SynthPopGirl ' are both respectable if not groundbreaking songs and well put together. 'Mandragore' is a welcome relaxed change and for me the best track on the album being something just a little different and having lyrics that stand up better to scrutiny. 'Love Machine' is so catchy it should be positively illegal, and is followed by 'Hole to the Moon' which for me lacks something but is then followed by the masterpiece that is 'Dunkle Zeit' (featuring Elektrostaub). This kicking track with its heavier sound and altogether beautifully put together refrain stands apart from anything else on the album. Superb! The final track on disc one is 'Confession 2009' which brings us right up to date and is a worthy end to the first disc, in this ambitious anthology.
Disc II
Lighter, fuller and less hard line Electronica is 'Reincarnation' and it's a good choice for the beginning of disc two. However '1614-1648' is far more interesting and quirky and befits the fact that disc two contains demos, previously unreleased songs and different versions of the band's well known stuff. 'This City II' is darker and weirder than we're used to and it's good, whilst this version of 'Conversaiton Overkill' (Intuition vs Distain) is pure brilliance. 'Coming Down is good enough in it's way but suffers from following such a good track whilst the demo ' Perfect Moment' is really very engaging if a little simple in it's construction. 'Hurt' begins with some really lovely piano work and works its way through a variety of beats to be a really nice addition to this album.
'Eines Tages', although I like it personally, is very commercial sounding. There's lots of hefty Electronica and it's not really up to the par of the other songs on the album, but it's not amiss considering the nature of this disc. 'I want you' is a discordant yearning ballad that's heavy on mournful atmosphere to great effect. The demo 'Phantom Lover' is another great track with operatic overtures and a plethora of interesting sound effects which for me make disc II the more interesting of the two. 'Together' is a demo which is really impressive, tightly constructed and beautifully orchestrated as is 'Time', a reflection on exactly that. The penultimate track 'Another Day' is good enough but nothing special, however the final track 'At the Gates' really sets its mark with a strong rhythm and good production.
Overall the album is a good and brave attempt at charting the history of !DISTAIN and its largely successful, the production being pretty damned good and the running order well thought out. Odd tracks don't appeal to me personally but they are compensated for by some outstanding work such as 'I want you' and 'Dunkle Zeit'. If you are a fan it's a “must have” album, if not I suggest you give it a chance for I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.
Tracklist
CD1
01. Dance In Heaven
02. Strange Affection
03. Confession
04. Conversation Overkill
05. Remote Control
06. I Beg For You
07. Promises
08. Tears of Joy (Radio Mix)
09. Goddess of Spring
10. America (Radio Edit)
11. Sex'n'Cross (Single Edit)
12. The City
13. SynthPopGirl
14. Mandragore
15. Love Machine
16. Hole in the Moon (feat. Sonictune / Elephant & Castle)
17. Dunkle Zeit (feat. Elektrostaub)
18. Confession 2009 (!distain vs Elektrostaub)
CD2
01. Reincarnation (feat. Seyhan)
02. 1618-1648 (feat. MGSundayS)
03. The City II (feat. Tania Murray)
04. Conversation Overkill 2009 (!distain vs. Intuition)
05. Coming down (Different Version)
06. Perfect Moment (Demo)
07. Hurt
08. Eines Tages
09. I Want You
10. Phantom Lover (Demo)
11. Together (Demo)
12. Time (Demo)
13. Another Day (Demo)
14. At the Gates (Arsine Tibé feat. Tania Murray / Remix)
15. Mandragore (Video)
16. Conversation Overkill (Video)
17. Tears Of Joy (Video)
18. Whispering Love (Video)
Line-up
Alexander Braun - Vocals, instruments
Manfred Thomaser - Vocals, instruments
Rick Prokein - Live on stage...
Website
http://www.distain.de/ / http://www.myspace.com/distainmusic
Cover Picture
Rating
Music: 8
Sound: 8
Extras:-
Total: 8 / 10
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