PSYCHE THE 11TH HOUR ALBUM ACCESSION RELEASE: JANUARY 24, 2005 REVIEW: MARCH 11, 2005

You cannot accuse Darrin Huss of being lazy. Not only does he remain creative within his beloved Psyche project, but he also lends his voice to countless other productions, such as the Parallel Project or Nonpoptale (the new band of former side-kick Remi Szyszka). "The 11th our" sees Huss go back to a past ally in Per-Anders Kurenbach, resulting in a sound distant from later, dance flirting, creations.
Not holding back, the opener "Bloodcurse" does indeed introduce us to eerie surroundings. Lines like: "In this world that time forgot, I am lost again. I lie awake somewhere alone, forever in a dream, a dream" further enhance the sense of desperation.
People keep mentioning that "The 11th Hour" is something of a continuation of the Psyche classic "The Influence", and even though it is difficult to contradict them, this effort seems to be nursed from even darker forces. I can spot a more distinctly human approach in the lyrics as well, making this album crawl down under your skin to dwell with the intention of staying there.
A bouncy side step, in terms of melody and tempo, comes with "15 Minutes", but it is still pretty much as dark as the rest of the disc.
Here and there, like in the dreadful "Defenseless", Huss and Kurenbach can not transmit their vision, but seen as a work of art, "The 11th Hour" performs very well. This is a pretty pessimistic take on the nether regions of the human soul and psyche, and I tend to prefer more upbeat and melody driven work, but credit to Huss for staying true to what he obviously loves, be it futurepop or darkwave tinted pop like this.

NIKLAS FORSBERG