Customer Reviews

Methods of Silence

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is one of my favorite albums of all time. Comparison to Depeche Mode is unavoidable, but I feel Camouflage has outgrown that influence and came into their own with this album. The infusion of ethnic mood/melodies, classical influences, and dark poetry is what makes this album a true beauty. I have been listening to it since its release, and I have not gotten tired of it one bit. In fact, everytime I listen to it, my love for this album is renewed. That's 12 years, my friends. TWELVE years.

Camouflage were routinely dismissed by their US and UK detractors as prefabricated Depeche Mode with a darker twist. Their fans, of course, know the difference! Camouflage is commendable (and catch them at Synthstock, if you can!) because they weave such an unusual, sinister undercurrent into the sweetest of electronic songs. Anyone who likes Erasure (guilty pleasure :) or Xymox will feel right at home here. Granted, they're much more serious than Erasure ever was, but songs like One Fine Day and On Islands still find them overflowing with quirky, positive humor. For the more darkly inclined, Feeling Down is a goth club classic, and Sooner Than We Think and Les Rues are disturbing and hauntingly beautiful. You may not enjoy this throughout on the first listen - their experimental side leaves vast tracks of sonic wasteland, that, the first time through, you don't even notice are well-populated. But with time, you'll find that the simplicity of the songs is veiled in subtlety, and rewards each listen with more dark beauty. Plus, it's just flat-out fun. ;) PS - seek out their best work, Voices & Images, if you can.

Great stuff. More polished than their previous work (which altho not bad, suffered alot from the group's poor English translations) ... "Love Is a Shield" is an obvious club dance number, but the lyrics and textures of this one make it special ... ok, it's a love song, but I happen to like em, ok? :-) ... The oddly named "Your Skinhead is the Dream" is a very dreamy synthy ballad with spoken words, and is simply relaxing.

But do you want to know the most poignant and interesting lyrics on this album? If so, bust out your French-English dictionary, and go to the track entitled "Les Rues" (The Streets) ... it's got odd musical textures, but the spoken lyrics in French are VERY alliterative, and (when translated) speak of our lives in the everyday world being analogous to a busy train station in the street, bustling with people. Of course, you'd have to speak fluent French to understand it but, having had someone translate it for me, it is all the more evocative.

Anyway ... this is quality material. If you collect darkwave or synthpop, this one is a must-have.

"Methods of Silence" is deeply indebted to Depeche Mode's younger synth sound, but the album is well worth a listen. Several of the songs are amazingly catchy--"Anyone" and "Love Is a Shield" stand out. Some are just plain fun, like "On Islands," and others hint at more original ground. A personal favorite of mine is "Your Skinhead Is the Dream," a dreamy synth ballad. It's not DM, but it's close enough to be worth a listen.

This album is probably Camouflage's peak. Depeche Mode continues to be an influence, but there is further variety to the arrangements. "Love Is A Shield" remains one of the 80's most hypnotic tracks, the cover of New Musik's "On Islands" is lots of fun, and there are plenty of other good songs.

For fans of Depeche Mode or Erasure, you'll like at least some of Camouflage. There are 4 really good songs. Unfortunately, that is where it ends. Some of it is, well, el stinko. That is the irony though because these songs are great: "One fine day"-A la Howard Jones, groovy. "Love is a shield"-Good lyrics, melodic. "Anyone"-has good verses, chorus. "Feeling down"-Gypsy, middle-eastern style synth, phat groove. Recommended for synth-pop newbies...

I really like this album. Camouflage has done it again. It is the album after "Voices And Images" that happens to be one of my favorate albums. "Methods of Silence" has the dark synth sounds that we expect from a German synth-band. The album is a little darker and some people say more mature than "Voices and Images". I personaly enjoy them both very much and feel that they both offer the similar type of satisfaction. Songs like "Love Is A Shield", "Anyone", "Feeling Down", "Your Skinhead Is the Dream", and "Picture of Life" are closer to the album "Voices and Images" and are just fantastic and upbeat. There are more great songs like "One Fine Day", "On Island" and "Sooner Than We Think" that a bid slower and on the mild side.

Got it in time and in good shape. No cracks, just the way i like it. Thank U.

This CD contains some real original songs, all of which are very good. I bought this album a long time ago, and I still listen to it today.

My favorite camouflage album. I love this one. Lots of good songs. This album is an underated electro pop gem.