seven

after about a year since last album, the band is back with two singles supporting the release of this full-length disk. the more I listen to it, the more I like it. at first I almost rejected it for overly simplistic sound, lack of originality and, most important, lack of feelings. but just like with "europa" and "sequencer", it takes some time to grow to appreciate subtle beauty of the music. it took me almost half a year in case of "europa", this time it was only a matter of several days.

first, the differences - surprisingly enough, there are quite a few - the sound seems to continue to erase boundaries between techno, synth-pop and electro, quite minimal music arrangements are used more often making vocals even more prominent. it appears that the band decided to accentuate its sound making dance hits even more club-friendly, while slowing down and adding more vocals to the ballads.

starting with instant dance hits like "dead stars", "one world one sky", "tour de force" that will find its fans right away, the disk continues with more old-school covenant tracks that mix perfect dancefloor appeal with melancholic romanticism that was so captivating on previous albums. simple "no man's land" and nostalgic "like tears in the rain" are the most moving of those. then it's turn of the tracks like "unforgiven" with its drum'n'bass-like sound that blends with fascinating vocals and soft melodic passages, slow and tender "humility", graceful and warm "still life", slightly poppy "afterhours", and even mesmerizing "helicopter" with it's somewhat silly lyrics.

more energetic than ever, softer than ever and equally moving, eskil takes the band further keeping old covenant spirit. after all, as long as it's present, covenant can take any direction it chooses.