Artist: Null + Void
Title: Cryosleep
Genre: Electronic
Release Date: 3rd November 2017
Label: hfn music
Album Review
Swiss-born New Yorker Kurt Uenala is very much a studio sort of guy. Never happier than when surrounded by machines, his experimenting, tinkering and electronic creativity have led to collaborations with some big names, most notably with DEPECHE MODE. Striking up a friendship with Dave Gahan resulted in the pair working together, a partnership that extends to NULL + VOID, Mr. Uenala’s current project. ‘Where I Wait’, on new album ‘Cryosleep’, is one of four vocal tracks featuring special guests, and the DEPECHE MODE singer’s instantly recognisable voice powers the song - which isn’t the most memorable, it has to be said - into territory it barely deserves. And it’s a mixed bag throughout. There’s the busy, jittery dancefloor groove of the fabulous ‘Asphalt Kiss’, somewhat menacing and brooding, despite its obvious club leanings. ‘Into The Void’ is a dreamier affair, pulsing and shimmering like a summery RÖYKSOPP, and ‘Come To Me’ has a sinister undercurrent.
On the vocal tracks, opener ‘Falling Down’ is a vast echo chamber of graceful synths and distant voices, courtesy of BLACK REBEL MOTORCYCLE CLUB. ‘Take It Easy’, featuring THE BIG PINK, is lightweight and forgettable, whereas ‘Hands Bound’, with the vocals of Shannon Funchess has a scary urgency and dark violence bubbling and boiling through its veins. The album feels too disjoined at times. Just as things seem to be getting interesting, along comes a track like ‘Foreverness’, which doesn’t go anywhere or add anything much, before you’re pushed almost reluctantly back onto the dancefloor with the so-so synth drive of ‘Paragon’, and then things tail off pleasantly enough with final track ‘Lost And Blind’. Neither experimental enough to be fascinating, nor consistent enough to be a pop album, it sits awkwardly amongst a jumble of styles and genres, occasionally hitting the mark but more often falling short. Which leaves the question, when would you actually play ‘Cryosleep’ in its entirety? Perhaps the clue is in the title.
Tracklist
01. Falling Down (feat. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club)
02. Into The Void
03. Asphalt Kiss
04. Where I wait (feat. Dave Gahan)
05. Come To Me
06. Take It Easy (feat. The Big Pink)
07. Foreverness
08. Paragon
09. Hands Bound (feat. Shannon Funchess)
10. Lost And Blind
Line-up
Kurt Uenala
Website
https://www.facebook.com/nullandvoidmusik
Cover Picture
Rating
Music: 6
Sound: 6
Total: 6 / 10
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