Certainly Worth A Listen
This Swedish brother and sister duo The Knife may not be household names, but you may be more familiar with them and some of their work than you think. We've all seen that car advert with the bouncing balls and the mellow acoustic soundtrack- the Jose Gonzalez massive hit single 'Heartbeat'. This was originally an electronic track by The Knife which opened their last album. Also if you remember the Roykksop single 'What Else Is There?' which was all over the radio before Christmas, the Bjork-like vocals were provided by Karin from The Knife.
Although their sound has an association with the mainstream, this is an act who like to work out on their own, making music which they want to create regardless of how it will be perceived by the rest of the world.
In places this album has some fantastic moments. It opens with the title track 'Silent Shout' which gets the record off to a reasonable start, but the standard is raised quite considerably with the second song; 'Neverland' stands out as the finest on this eleven track collection. Electronic music, as with most styles, works at its best when songs are created with identifiable hooks and catchy chorus lines even if minimalistic, rather than slipping into interesting yet sometimes confusing meanderings. 'Neverland' is a perfectly packaged example, at times not unlike the Pet Shop Boys.
'Marble House' is another great track. If you took Bjork, Paul Oakenfold, Erasure and Goldfrapp and put them together in a room and told them to make a record, this may be how it might sound. Chilled and atmospheric but with a strong pop element to it.
Tracks two and six are the strongest songs on a record which in parts will wash over you. For some the experimental feel is good but for me after a while it becomes a bit dull. When 'The Captain' eventually gets going it is a very enjoyable piece of electronica, the only problem is that the ambient, mysterious, earie intro goes on for a little too long. A good example of where the experimental approach goes too far is 'Na Na Na', as sadly it doesn't really seem to go anywhere and sounds like somebody is practicing scales on a keyboard.
I own a number of electronica albums and was very interested to see how this one has turned out. Despite showing flashes of great potential, 'Silent Shout' will struggle to find its way into my pick of 2006 come the end of the year.