Title: La Parade Monstrueuse
Artist: In Strict Confidence
Genre: Electronic / Wave
Release Date: 26th February 2010
Label: Minuswelt Musikfabrik
Album Review
The newest album of IN STRICT CONFIDENCE has been long in coming indeed. I remember first rumours about an upcoming release popping up some time in 2008. But well, what can you do? Good things just take their time, whereas good is quite a subjective term when it comes to music. Could be seen when the video for the single 'My Despair' premiered. While I got used to the song after a while, other's couldn't at all, and opinions about the just released 'La Parade Monstrueuse' are generally mixed
The introduction to the new album makes you feel a bit uncomfortable within a spell through its inherent creepiness. It's reminiscent of a spooky funfair whose only purpose is to scare the living daylights out of you. The transition to the above mentioned 'My Despair' comes harsh and is not at all fluent as it should be in my eyes. The crystalline, spaced-out vibe of the acoustically tinged guitars drips a still subdued melancholia, becoming more obvious as the song's slowly surging to full instrumentation with its subtly kicking drums and Dennis' unmistakable sonorous verbal injections. Following 'Silver Bullets' received a great deal of praise from many who couldn't cope with the single track, and also has been released as special EP, attached to a German scene magazine. I dare saying it's typically ISC club sound updated with the advantages of modern production but with an extremely increased amount of slithering guitar strums which were not as prominent on previous releases.
The down-tempo 'One Drop' introduces itself with sequentially altering drum arpeggios as a backdrop fundament to something that's always been one of the bands' biggest strengths, being the creation of a declamatory, awe-inspiring atmosphere appearing to imbue worlds with a single of its compelling notes. Now it's curtains up for Nina De Lianin's first appearance on an ISC album on 'Set Me Free' which could pass for an, admittedly dark, rock song as well. I'm taking a counter position to many now in saying she's a natural fit for the ISC sound. Ok, this trained voice takes some getting used to but the chorus crescendo together with Dennis, surrounded by the skilfully layered synths is mind-blowing and gives me goose bumps. To the distorted pounds of 'This is All' I always see a grotesque-looking circus artist dancing into the circus ring, spinning a special walking stick and telling the audience a story about the inequity of life.
Grey clouds gather up in the sky and rain starts falling to the beginning piano orchestration of the German 'Ewige Nacht', indulging in beautiful simplicity and the poetic imagery of the lyrics, lost to those not speaking this language. Only for moments, drums surface to accentuate everything until the track fades calmly and with the whistling of the Theremin. 'Schwarzes Licht' is another song that will limit comprehension to the group of German speaking people. It's nature, compared to the previous song, is a fairly different one as it's glowing in radiant black all the time. It's a whimsical piece of music, though I can't exactly pinpoint why that's the case. But it's a feeling that only occurs at this particular tune. It has to be noted though that the vocal performance of Antje Schulz isn't the source. She's doing a great job at embodying an apparently mean female spirit conjured back from the past.
On his last journey to eternity, we accompany a dying soldier on the album closer 'Golden Gate', and once again it's the atmosphere captivating you, sonically depicting the final dawn this human being sees with the gentle streams of golden sunlight touching his skin, while he's going on his last journey to the giant gates of the great beyond. On 'La Parade Monstrueuse', IN STRICT CONFIDENCE exhibit a stronger use of organic influences for their sound, most notably the guitars for that matter. The production and sound are exemplary and working on getting to that level obviously was one reason for the album taking so long to getting released. Another one the visual component, that is, the artwork. Still have to stick to the digital promo copy, since I haven't received my copy yet, so I can't tell you about that unfortunately. From what I can tell, the album is improvement and in all regards, some lie in the detail and some are rather obvious. Whether you like the stylistic direction taken or not is up to your personal tastes as always.
Tracklist
01. Intro - 1:02
02. My Despair - 5:00
03. Silver Bullets - 4:18
04. One Drop - 5:25
05. Set Me Free - 4:30
06. This Is All - 3:49
07. Ewige Nacht - 4:49
08. Snow White - 5:13
09. I Surrender - 4:55
10. Schwarzes Licht - 4:54
11. Golden Gate - 5:37
Line-Up
Dennis Ostermann - Songwriting, Vocals
Jörg Schelte - Songwriting, Keys
Antje Schulz - Vocals
Nina De Lianin - Vocals
Sefan Vesper - Songwriting, Drums
Haydee Sparks - Live Guitars
Website
http://www.instrictconfidence.com/ / http://www.myspace.com/instrictconfidence
Cover Picture
Rating
Music: 9
Sound: 10
Extras: -
Total: 9.5 / 10
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