Customer Reviews

Silence Is Sexy

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This album has kept me going late to sleep and waking early in the morning just to listen to it before I go to work. It took me a few listens because it doesn't quiet sound like you regular E.N. album. It is more skeletal and has a stark and naked beauty yet it is more elaborate. It kicks off with "Sabrina", a piece driven by a simple, almost isolated bass line, very low, very slow, just teasing as Blixa sings about black which in this context could be interpreted as silence or as the tabula rassa on which he creates his music. It took me a few listens to get it because it sounded a little too simple at first, now I can only say that is as simple as lover whispering your ear, that glorious, that delicate. Sexy indeed. The tittle track, works in a similar way, Blixa mumbles the phrase "silence is sexy" over a bass line, then abruptly stops, he lights a cigarette, takes a drag and takes a long pause in which you could hear the inside of his mouth (don't know about you, but it raised my hair)just building tension until a percussion (you know it is not necessarily drums when it comes to EN) takes silence by surprise. The song starts again until the ever wild Mexico City crowd put an end to it. Very strange indeed!. From then on, a hundred ideas evolve until your mind goes spinning. Every song has a climax but you never notice how it happened, suddenly you just can not feel the ground behind your feet. "In circles" is a beautiful vision of the unique universe of molecules and it apparently chaotic order, it is followed by Bilxa ranting about gravity because it stops him from flying in "Newton's Gravitatlichkeit" . Could you even imagine for a second a world in which these songs were actually .... popular?.

"Die Befindichkeit Des Landes" is one of the stand out tracks here, precise and atmospheric, with a killer lyric about the changes in the landscapes of Berlin during the second part of the century, concluding that after bunkers, and shopping malls, grass will finally grow again in those lands again. The song collapses in brutal percussion, then starts again, then Bilxa abandons himself in a chorus that is maybe one of his best, more touching vocal performances. "Musentango" is a real funny piece (this is a very upbeat album) about getting drunk, and Sonnenbarke would not feel uncomfortable in the "5 at the opened ended Richter Scale" album with its poetry about flying to the sun (alchemy has never left EN). As always with EN albums, every song is wonderful but there is one that steals the show, it happened with "Haus der Luege", with NNNAMMM, with "Der Todd eist an Dandy" and on Sexy, "Redukt" is the show stopper. The whole song ties in the whole concept of the album, slowly developing around the sound of a metal object that is used as percussion on irregular intervals, then strings appear with the song that caresses your ears until Blixa angrily punishes screaming the chorus and then......silence. 10 minutes of pure bliss.

One should avoid phrases like "this is best E.N. album so far, or the record of the year", like nuclear explosion. But this is a very unique piece of music even under E.N.'s unique standards, and one that sounds better every time you listent to it. I you care for a record that matters, buy Silence is Sexy.

There seems to be one agreement among all reviewers about Silence is Sexy: it's not like earlier Neubauten. The same goes for "Tabula Rasa", another terriffic album from the band. But some people are displeased with those albums and all of the ones in between because they're not...um, "Industrial" enough, they're not angsty enough, and they're too tame. "MAN, break out that pneumatic drill and give me some more eardrum-rupturing caucophony I can sterilize small animals with!" I disagree with that sentiment. Of course, I am in no way ripping on EN's earlier material; it was their brilliant, searing, metal and found sound percussion along with the screeching and squealing of power tools and Blixa Bargeld's banshee yell (anything on "Kollaps", or "Seele Brennt" from "Halber Mensch", for example) that defined them as unique, pioneering artists in the European avant-garde of the 70's and 80's. But Neubauten had no reason to stop there. Evolution in sound and overall feeling/atmosphere the music creates is one of the trademarks of a band who's daring enough to explore new areas of their art. After all, Neubauten is all about beginnings and endings! Einstuerzende Neubauten's music matured as they did, and they did it beautifully.

According to the band's lead singer and writer, Blixa Bargeld, their previous work, Ende Neu, summarized the demise of the great experimental lab and playground - the "island of Berlin". Now it is time to go on and rebuild on top of the cultural void left after the loss of West Berlin's political independence.

In the past two decades the never ending quest of Einsturzende Neubauten to question and destroy all that had to do with and emanated from the popular culture left a very noticeable mark in the institution. Uncompromising and ever inventive, EN turned every concept associated with popular music and art upside down and inside out. Furthermore, the resulting flesh was sometimes shredded into pieces and reassembled back together the way only the band could imagine.

The progressive elimination of every layer of cultural conformity, the process of stripping life naked of lies and concessions made by the self-indulgent mass media, brought the band to the realization of the fact that behind all this a much more important thing is present. The metaphysical nature of what is behind cannot be described directly in words or music. It is that which we can only describe as the transcendental Beauty. And now that all layers have been peeled, it is time to attempt the impossible: describe the underlying essence.

"Silence Is Sexy" tries to do just that. Every song offers a new approach to grasping the essence of the quality that we call beauty. Beauty is represented by colors (SABRINA.) Beauty is in the light (SONNENBARKE) Beauty is in silence (SILENCE IS SEXY) and, of course, in love (DINGSALLER) Yet we can never get to Beauty directly, "beauty remains in the impossibilities of the body" (BEAUTY)

In spite of the fact that the record seems to be "on the quiet side", the extraordinary energy of the group is ever present in each song. It just seems to be much more focused. The explosive power of EN is carefully concealed within every song structure. Instead of simply exploding in your ears, the compositions are bulging and cracking at the seams. The internal pressure is well maintained throughout the record. Yet you can never relax and let your guard down, for the strength, albeit hidden is always felt. The energy charge is subsequently transferred to you, along with the album's enigma.

Truly a work of inspiration, with songs both intelligent and enlightening, "Silence Is Sexy" constitutes yet another landmark achievement by the legendary German band.

This cd is generally more hard-hitting than the cd before it, Ende Neu, without sacrificing the beautiful minimalistic virtuosity of their musical instrumentation. This cd sounds as intellectual as the Neubauten members are. This cd is big ideas. It's fun. I get lose in the pulsing pounding of Redukt. In Die Befindlichkeit des Landes (the lay of the land), the way the rhythm grows & completes itself is amazing. In Beauty, the monologue is interesting, & the ambient wavering electronics are great. I saw themplay in Boston on their tour for this. I think it was during Zampano that Blixa was gyrating. There are,of course, also a few songs that have the romantic minimalism they do so well. In one of them, the title track, there's a long silence. In another, the first song on the cd, there's a reference to Russian avant-garde artist Kazimir Malevich who was a great great greart pioneer of minimalistic, abstract geometric painting. The last song, Total Eclipse of the Sun, you could play for your grandmother without distressing her.

Einstürzende Neubauten have dealt with a wide variety of sounds (most of which were dazing and disturbing) in the past so it's a bit surprising to find out that their last record is entitled "silence is sexy". One might be wrongfooted when listening to the record for the first time and wonder if this is actually the same band that recorded "1/2 Mensch"... well, yes, they've changed their trademark sound and this, far from going to the disadvantage of quality, makes Silence is Sexy their best record to date... It sounds more calm, meditative than their previous efforts but the lyrics are simply astounding (many track are sung in German but you'll find a translation in the booklet) and the music is as sophisticated as usual (well, they're one of the best indie bands out there if not the only one). Sometimes the music stops, giving way to the silence, then it takes up again and at times it sound as furious as usual... but given that in both cases you are listening to a work of art, who really cares?

My interest in Einsturzende Neubauten was intially stirred inthe mid-80s, and what I've always enjoyed best about this band (evenmore than the cool power tools) is their ability to jump from some of the quietest, sparsest whispers to the loudest, most quarrelsome sounds known to man in the blink of an eye (remember "Seele brennt" and "Armenia?"). As recently as last year, after catching them at a local venue, I was impressed with this band's ability to still pull off the old "restraint vs. angst" sound, not unlike the style they first deployed on classics like "Five Off the Open-Ended Richter Scale." What is lacking on "Silence is Sexy" is the raw, hard "angst" side of this pivotal balance. Almost everything is sparse here, and the simple rhythms often sound like techo-sampled beats, despite EN's policy of using the acoustic sound of their "instuments" rather then modern samplers and sequencers. Restraint is obvious everywhere, with only a few tracks breaking loose of such well-intended but misguided over-production. That being stated, the few tracks of note here are exceptional, and mercifully LENGTHY. There is a certain understated fury in the hypnotic refrain of "Sonnenbarke" that is particularly effective, and a few flashes of that furious chaos of old on tracks like "Alles." "Redukt," which I first heard at the previously mentioned local gig, was the reason I bought this CD. It does not fail to deliver on the studio version, though singer Bargeld does little of the wheezing and bellowing he did when I first heard this band almost 20 years ago. The power of the band coupled with the subtle string arrangement more than fills the gaps left by Blixa's understandable vocal limitations (the guy's been smoking and screaming for over 20 years now!).

For guttural screams and a treasure trove of drill noises, listeners will have to wait for disc 2, a single seemingly endless composition called "Pelikanol." Unquestionably the biggest highlight from this effort, this 18+ minute composition is the strongest, most challenging new work I've heard from this band since the good old pre-"Haus der Luge" days. It serves as an admirable contrast to some of the empty coldness of the first disc, and in my opinion disc 2 could have very easily been much longer. Several other new compositions of equal intensity (angst!) would have been greatly appreciated here.

If you happen to catch EN on tour in support of this effort, don't buy this one as your first CD. I would recommend something along the lines of "1/2 Mensch," or "Drawings of OT." Long-time fans will find some gems on this recording that more than justify owning it, particularly those fond of the "Richter Scale" period (of which I include myself). But there's some fat to trim here, or at least an awful lot of sparseness begging for a bit more angst. END

As a long-time Einstuerzende Neubauten fan who admits to having been a bit disappointed with "Ende Neu," I wasn't sure what to expect from the next EN album. Now, after nine days of insanely obsessive listening to "Silence Is Sexy," I've come to the conclusion that it ranks close to "Halber Mensch" in greatness. This is an amazing CD. Blixa is a genius. Sigh.

This album is the most laid-back Einsturzende Neubauten album I've ever heard. Every single song on this album is fire, the lyrics are perfect, and the music is crazy! The only problem is that I got this on vinyl and it has another track "Missed Calls" as opposed to "Total Eclipse of the Sun."

I am just beginning to get into industrial music, and this is one of the first industrial albums I've bought. Overall, I like it. It's nice to hear something so subdued, and yet not wishy-washy. I love the use of abnormal instruments, especially the cigarette on the title track. However, there are a few factors which prevent me from giving it a higher rating. First, although I like the subdued tone, I feel that the aalbum could have used one or two heavier songs, along the lines of Redukt. I also find some of the tracks to be repetitive and unneccesary bits of fluf. I would have perfered it if they had left of some of this filler and put Pelikanol at the end of the first disc, rather than making it a two cd set.
In general the album's a pleasant listen, especially as mood music(it's actually quite frightening if you listen to it on headphones late at night). If you're looking for a different and innovative kind of music, this might be for you. If, on the other hand, you want some heavy industrial music to rock to, this is definately the wrong place to look.

Silence Is Sexy is the best EN CD since Halber Mensch and I'd give it 10 stars if I could. But I disagree with the Amazon review above. It is wrong to say that Blixa Bargeld learned about beauty from Nick Cave. Beauty has ALWAYS been a part of Einstuerzende Neubauten's albums. And the statement that Pelikanol is "not much more pleasant than getting a root canal" makes me believe that the reviewer does not get Einstuerzende Neubauten at all and is only a fan of the more "accessible" (I use that term very loosely) songs. If Pelikanol is so difficult for him, what must he think of Der Tod Ist Ein Dandy (one of the best EN songs ever)?