ERBLAST
VI
ALBUM STRANGE WAYS RELEASE: JANUARY 18, 2000 REVIEW: JANUARY 27, 2000
Why do German dark wave-acts so often have vocalists that
seem to inhale considerable amounts of helium? Erblast's front man Oswald Henke
(also Goethes Erben's mastermind) joins this specific group (with members such
as Stefan Ackermann of Das Ich) in their hunt for the best Smurf imitation trophy.
Or are these perhaps just lame attempts to capture the vocal brilliance of
Blixa Bargeld?
True or not, Erblast belong to a very German tradition
overflowed by pompous gloom and pretentious poetry. The impressive ambitions
within this genre however rarely correspond with the final result. Erblast is
no exception from the rule.
On "VI", the minimal efforts put into the production
make way for some less interesting soundscapes. This includes a female vocalist
that obviously sings off-key and a cheap scent of EBM nostalgia. Moments of
rather pleasant retro electronics fail to breath life into the semi acoustic
arrangements. Add to this some repulsive cover art made by Mr Incompetent
himself and a pointless interpretation of Sister of Mercy's "Some Kind of
Stranger" and you get yourself one unnecessary album.
ERIK ALMGREN
