This is a concept record from this French project containing three tracks that clock in at more than 20 minutes each, driven largely by beats and partially musical synths with plenty of experimental textures blended into the fold. It's very professionally recorded and sequenced, though admittedly it's a bit more musical and tangible than I usually tend to prefer. I do enjoy listening to this, but it's not the most interesting thing I've come across in this general realm, and it really feels almost dance-y to me in a way, while still retaining a certain air of darkness about it. One thing that confuses me is that the songs each have their own phases, the transitions between these phases aren't particularly jarring, but the contrast between atmospheres often makes no sense and would really warrant an actual separate track. I don't really know why it's necessary to keep the entire CD contained within three tracks that are all over 20 minutes long. "Introversion" has a really nice musical break in it that has a weird sort of industrial percussion thing going on right beside a combination of orchestral harmonies and 80's sounding electronic synth melodies. And I love that, but later on the track totally changes and breaks into another dance-ish segment before turning around and heading down a more ethereal ambient minimal path. There's a piano interlude in the latter portion of "Destruction" that really rubs me the wrong way, though. It's a completely out of nowhere segment that has nothing in common with the rest of the material. The disc comes attached to a large folder type of cover with a postcard inside that has a similar color scheme and artwork to the rest of the booklet, which has a computerized sort of aesthetic using textures and shapes with a metallic glow of sorts. I'm guessing this isn't the actual packaging, which really pisses me off, but I have no way to be sure so fuck it. The liner notes describe the material as "a cycle of life" that delves into the experiences and consequences of isolation and anger within the mind. As I said, I do like this, it's a well handled CD, but at the same time... it does get a little boring, and I don't feel that the conceptual ideas are really conveyed by the music. Without the liner notes I never would've even deduced that this is a concept record or anything. I'd be interested to hear more work from Remain Silent, but perhaps a more focused EP would be nice?
[Brume]
Running time - 69:24, Tracks: 3
[Notable tracks: Introversion]
Brume Records - http://www.brumerecords.com
