 | Tracklist:
1. Sweet Unrest
2. Song of Los
3. Blackwater
4. Goodbye
5. Candile de la Calle
6. The Soft Voices Die
7. Escape
8. Ash/Black Veil
9. A Bang in the Void
10. Your House Is My World
Release Date: 09/26/2011 | |
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On 1 Lists
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| Summary: More of the same from an artist simply trying to present too much of himself, when the simple option would have been far more effective. |
Outside of his breathless Duplex release, there's always been something hidden in Apparat's music that's always managed to hold him back from being included within the big picture. Jumping ship from glitch-based skittery dance beats to tranquil ambient showcases definitely hasn't helped his cause either, nor has his overly intensive melancholic vocals or his delivery of said dusty gospels. He's always come across as an artist who seems desperate to convey a meaningful point while not actually having anything truly thought-provoking to discuss. And perhaps it's just been a case of bad timing, as vocal electronic music has only now just become the next big thing, as James Blake can attest to. But for every sumptuous and organic piece of ambient documentation that this ex-pat German has laid down, he's also fumbled with that always malignant sense of calmness that is inherently tied into his genre of choice by interlacing it with his heady and, occasionally, diabolical attempts at depressive poetry.
But there's always been traces of intense beauty and stunning tranquility bundled away in his music, his proficiency as a producer only adding weight to the kaleidoscopic waves of ambiance. And The Devil's Walk is no exception, with its twitchy percussion and smooth-as-silk synths dueling like a balancing act against his shiver-inducing vocals. Comparisons have been made to the dream pop of yesteryear, and more than a few wide-eyed bloggers have attempted to ring Apparat into the chillwave sect and to be fair, the similarities are there, what with the German's propensity for disparate yearning and the child-like innocence he imbues in just about all of his works. But what holds him back from being wrangled into these groups is his use of vocals; while at times they float in and out of the dreamscape more than often you'll find them to be the centerpiece of the track, sometimes just too forceful and intrusive that they just end up damaging the fragile background. And it's not just the vocal work that ends up forcing its way onto you, it's there in the music as well, swelling up bigger and bigger like a post rock cliche. And when his emotional dam finally bursts it knocks you out of the spell of his ambient hypnosis, grabs you and shakes you free of the doldrum. He gets caught up trying to give too much, that he forgets the awesome power of subtlety and how mood and atmosphere work best when subdued, or at the very least roaring from a distance. But in those instances between his egotistical overload, he releases pure magic, unfiltered and glorious.
As has been the case for just about the entirety of Apparat's career, The Devil's Walk is more of the same from an artist simply trying to present too much of himself, when the simple option would have been far more effective. It's not that these moments of overwhelming intensity are hollow or contrived, they just seem out of place appearing at the tail-end of such thoughtful and detailed melancholia. It's as if a sudden change of heart consumes Apparat halfway through his process and his inward thinking suddenly turns outwards. It just ends up blowing all of his subdued weight out of proportion. So yet again we're graced with another disjointed and broken lesson in life from Apparat, half spectacle and half spectacularly disappointing.
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| Recent reviews by this author | | | |
Album Rating: 2.5
Sweet Unrest: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyZhzfgXHMk
The Soft Voices Die: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUoA4AOkzTI&feature=related
Song Of Los: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDyk8ouEfSQ
Digging: Amon Tobin - Amon Tobin Digging: Amon Tobin - Amon Tobin | | |
"kaleidoscopic waves of ambiance"
heavy
Digging: John Talabot - Fin
| | | Album Rating: 2.5
Blame the drugs
Just realised I now own all 4 feature spots on the other page, just a shame no one looks at that page
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lolol. Though, would you expect any more given the context of this place?
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You only have 2/4 of the smaller ones on the bottom though. Something to strive for 
Digging: Slugabed - Time Team Digging: Slugabed - Time Team
| | | Album Rating: 2.5
lolol. Though, would you expect any more given the context of this place?
I think I've done a bit to open up the minds of a few sputnikers
You only have 2/4 of the smaller ones on the bottom though. Something to strive for
Yeah, no haha
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Someone's on a roll with reviewing =)
Good job Devvie, pos.
Digging: My Bloody Valentine - Loveless Digging: My Bloody Valentine - Loveless
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
He'll probably never top his collaboration with Ellen Allien. Still want to hear this though
Digging: John Talabot - Fin Digging: John Talabot - Fin | | | Album Rating: 2.5
Uh, I'm kinda focuing on new or recent releases at the mo dude, sorry
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Walls wasn't bad but, yeah OoB is my favorite of his
Digging: Lone - Galaxy Garden Digging: Lone - Galaxy Garden
| | | Album Rating: 2.5
He's always best when he works with someone else. ^ that of course, plus the Moderat stuff
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One of your shorter reviews. Good work.
Digging: Between the Buried and Me - Colors Digging: Between the Buried and Me - Colors
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
Sweet! Thanks for this one, Deviant =)
Great review, but this is defenitely better than a 3; just not sure yet how much better...
Digging: Swarms - Low Sun EP | | | Album Rating: 2.5
Not by much though it seems ;)
One of your shorter reviews. Good work.
Only so much you can say when the album is like 90% ambient based haha
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
Well yeah, I was choosing between a 4 and a 3.5, but there were some parts that aren't as good as his previous work. So a high 3.5 it is ;)
Still, Goodbye is incredible
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
actually thought this was pretty good
| | | Album Rating: 2.5
So did I
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
At least a four for it's stand out tracks (black water etc).
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Love the use of Goodbye on Breaking Bad Season Finale.
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^That was a fucking epic scene and yeah that was a great track for it
Also, Devil's Walk-Goodbye. JS.
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