| Artist |
| Novermber Process |
| Title |
| Deafinition |
| Format/Cat |
| CD VM004 |
| Label |
| Vendetta |
| Style |
| Synthpop |
| Date of review |
| 17th February 2008 |
| Reviewer |
| Carl Jenkinson |
| Rating |
| 7/10 |
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I think the one conclusion that can be drawn from this second November Process album (the follow up to 2004's Newspeak which was praised to the skies by yours truly on this very site) is that both the band & the label believe that quality is more important than quantity. Only this could account for a running time of 39 minutes which is less than some EPs; that's not to say that loading the disc with remixes would have been preferable but that is short by anyone's standards these days. Compared to its predecessor, this is a less dynamic, more accessable, slightly 'nicer' synthpop/electro album that manages to escape the stylistic straitjacket of 'future pop' (although the lively 'Speak The Ending' comes pretty close), taking in a wider musical view that's not totally unlike some of Devision's later works (but without the blandness that this might entail). In a way, this is a shame as, while there are no bad tracks on here, it's a good album rather than the great one they're so obviously capable of. Having said that 'Men In Grey' has the potential to become a well-loved number with its memorable main piano theme & some nicely melodic vocals from Chuck Gish, as does 'Define Friend', which cribs the rhythm from Kraftwerk's Numbers (or something very much like it) although its effect is negligable once the main theme gets started. Similarly, 'Coldwar' manages to set a nicely atmospheric tone just through one offbeat note that makes all the difference although it's the two final tracks that show the band at their best as the pacey & punchy, techno-flavoured 'Go With Me' leaves the way open for 'Lead The Way' to finish the album on a high note with some memorable synthleads working in unison with the guitar work of Johannes Leszinski (which, given that they have a perfectly good guitarist in Hendrik Schmidt, is something they'd do well to make greater use of). In fairness, if you've not heard their debut & you enjoy the more accessable European styles then this should suit you just fine but I just can't help feeling that, when listened to from start to finish, it is only a good album when they could have produced something very special if only they'd pushed themselves a bit harder.
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