veers, Jan 22, 2006
The very first release from the ENGINEERS... and a strong masterpiece, not to be neglected.
"The Silence" sees the duo paying attention to both simplicity and complexity, on complementary levels. Simplicity through the gentle melodic progression, using a luminous layer as main tone, going from a modulation to another with a kind of large "symphonic" effect. Complexity because this track also shows a characteristic that made their former trademark : the versatility of drumline, full of subtle breaks. Serious debut, shining with the beauty of evidence...
On the flip, a more mystical mood is to discover with "Shattered", a track close to their further "Cerulean seas" which, although very gorgeous, isn't as haunting in my opinion. Fluid waves of filtered choirs and layers set a spacey environment in all registers, merging together into a global tone, very pure and polished. When listening to it, I imagine a seascape at twilight, empty of human presence... ...The breeze is a bit cold...Stars begin to reveal themselves above the clouds... No doubt this tune carries a sense of blues within its tonality, its muffled steady bass or the discreet melancholy motif appearing in the second half. White noise fx end this musical gem with mystery, showing another distinctive element of F.E.'s early style you can hear too in "Fragments", "Cerulean seas", "Life support" and "Timeshift". A precious tune, crystalline and opaque at the same time, combining strenght with true sonic poetry.
4.6/5 (