Artist: Minerve
Title: Please
Genre: Electro-Pop
Release Date: 22nd October 2010
Label: Echozone
Album Review
Established in 2002, German band MINERVE released their debut album ‘Breathing Avenue’ in 2004 and immediately obtained a promising title of one of the best Electro-Pop acts of that time. And the year later, after first successful concerts and two singles, they proved to be the best by gaining a prize in the "Electro Pop 2005" category by the German Rock & Pop Association. The second album ‘Sensefiction’ went out in 2006 bringing the band wide popularity that resulted in extensive touring. The band was so warmly welcomed in Russia, that in 2007 they presented to their fans there Russia-only remix album ‘Love Traces’. Now, after the 3-year pause, the time for the new release has come.
Commencing with some insinuating sounds interrupted with the invasion of mid-pace rhythm, ‘Hold Me Tight’ step by step reveals its high potential to become a hit and represents a very promising introduction. ‘Every Day’ with straight beat and energetic sequences manifests escapism in its lyrics: “Every day is the same / It's driving me insane / I feel the void now to get inside my mind”. Highly melodious ‘Down To the Ground’ in a very light-hearted manner delivers the lyrics about parting that produces an impression of certain optimistic attitude. But this mood changes in ‘Life is an Illusion’, which is one of the greatest highlights of the album, in my view. Emerging throughout the song disquieting guitar frees itself in the refrain as well as the vocals, showing all its astonishing power and beauty in the second half of the song. The slightly distorted backing vocals in the ending thicken the feeling of confusion described in the lyrics: “My life is an illusion The feeling that never ends And time lost inside confusion It’s hard to understand This life is an illusion The feeling that never ends And it’s time to draw conclusion On hope it all depends”.
Perhaps, everyone faces feelings of this kind some day, and has to go through them. The following ‘You Don't Know Me’ drops down both the mood and the tempo representing a melancholic emotional ballad. In the beginning it sounds nearly acoustic with the piano accompanying the soft mellow voice of Daniel Wollatz and delicate strings caressing it in the chorus, but then the sound is enriched with the distinct bass-line and Synth sounds to burst out into final desperate cry of frustration, strengthened by the guitar riffs, drums and dramatic string section, and performed splendidly indeed. The driving pumping beat of ‘Phoenix’ breaks into your ears, living no doubt that this track is destined to be a dance floor breaker. The wide string arrangements backed by the thick spherical bass-line embellishes the romantic ‘Read In My Memories’. The title song ‘Please’ is an uplifting and hopeful electro pop hymn, full of light, bright atmosphere and magnificent clear vocals. The album comes to the end with catchy and forceful ‘Under My Skin’.
MINERVE has produced very strong, polished and extremely qualitative album. Perhaps you won’t find much novelty in it, but it truly wins as a perfect representative of the genre. Furthermore, the striking clear voice of Daniel Wollatz is really a leading instrument of MINERVE and a treasure, which not so many bands posses nowadays.
Tracklist
01. Hold Me Tight
02. Every Day
03. Down To The Ground
04. Life Is An Illusion
05. You Don't Know Me
06. Don't Ask Me Why
07. Phoenix
08. Read In My Memories
09. Please
10. Forbidden Love
11. Save Me
12. Under My Skin
Line-up
Daniel Wollatz - Lyrics / Vocals
Andreas Wollatz - Live Keyboard / Backing Vocals
Mathias Thürk - Compositions / Programming / Live Keyboard
David Kewitz - Live Drums
Website
http://www.minerve.de/ / http://www.myspace.com/minerveband
Cover Picture
Rating
Music: 8
Sound: 10
Extras: -
Total: 9 / 10
{jos_sb_discuss:19}
Comments powered by CComment