Recoil
Unsound Methods
Mute
Alan Wilder (ex-Depeche Mode) goes leaps and bounds beyond Bloodline with Unsound Methods. His choice to use four different vocalists comes across strange on the outset, but as the album plays, you can hear the reasons. Wilder’s new stride sets pace with the slow build towards a solid driving beat of “Incubus.” He almost corrects the failures of goth in his choice for a vocal style similar to Leonard Cohen. “Drifting” begins with a very tribal nature, and with a slip-slide it takes off. Very Portishead in nature, but the style and production stem more into dub. On “Lucious Apparatus,” Maggie Estep steps in on vocals. From a slow start (a Wiseblood sample), “Lucious” builds stamina, dimension, and finally BPM as Estep bellows forth in her trademark flamboyance. “Control Freak” walks a very close line with Nine Inch Nails in the intro, but eloquently exhibits the contrast between sung and spoken vocals. “Missing Piece” and “Shunt” are quite complementary. With their dub and trancy feel, they are sure to be the dance-hall hits. “Last Breath” rings similar to Enigma as the vocals whisper soft and sultry through the melodies. By far, this album demonstrates the music talent that was once behind Depeche Mode. Hopefully the tracks will not fall upon deaf ears.
