Absurd Minds – Sapta (Album – Scanner / Dark Dimensions)
Genre/Influences: Wave-pop, dark-electro, EBM.
Format: Digital, CD.
Background/Info: The album “Tempus Fugit” (2017) marked the return of Absurd Minds after an absence of seven years. This year the band celebrates its twenty fifth anniversary. But better than releasing a ‘best of’-album Absurd Minds strikes back with their seventh full length album featuring twelve new songs.
Content: Absurd Minds moves on composing the ‘classic’ songs that we are used to hearing from them. The influences are once again covering different genres; from dark-pop and wave-pop towards a few ‘harder’ cuts, mixing electronics with guitar. The charismatic vocals of their front man Stefan Grossmann remains another main characteristic of the band. This album features several beautiful songs leading the listener into reverie. Other harder cuts are more danceable, injecting some variety to the work.
+ + + : This album is made to dream away; globally speaking there are more wafting songs featured instead of harder, danceable pieces. I however like the ‘hard’ side of the album revealed at “Dear End”, which sounds as the offspring between Project Pitchfork and The Sisters Of Mercy. Another noticeable song is “One Blood”, which is driven by great electronic sequences. This song could be a potential title track for an EP. I also like the melancholia hanging over “A Light That Shone” and the refined touch of “Turning Away”.
– – – : Absurd Minds remains a rather unique band in their genre although after twenty five years I must say the songs have become a bit too predictable.
Conclusion: Absurd Minds remains a fixed value in an electronic approach only a few bands are dealing with. I don’t consider “Sapta” to be their best work in history although it’s a fully accomplished work.
Best songs: “One Blood”, “Dear End”, “A Light That Shone”, “Turning Away”, “Carry The Flag”.
Rate: (7½).
Artist: www.absurdminds.de / www.facebook.com/AbsurdMinds
Label: www.darkdimensions.de / www.facebook.com/pages/Dark–Dimensions–Label–Group/486014725206
About Absurd Minds
Absurd Minds began in 1995 as a project of Tilo Ladwig and Stefan Grossmann. The Dresden-based act connected with Francesco D’Angelo, who records as Scanner and also runs the Dark Dimensions label, and grew from a duo into a full band. After the 2010 album “Serve Or Suffer”, Absurd Minds returned in 2017 with “Tempus Fugit” following a seven-year break; “Sapta” is the band’s seventh full-length album, released in the year of its twenty-fifth anniversary.
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