Deine Lakaien – Dual+ (Album – Chrom Records / Prophecy Productions)

Genre/Influences: Dark Wave-Pop, Cinematographic-Pop.

Format: Digital, CD, Vinyl.

Background/Info: Set up in 1985, Deine Lakaien rapidly became a renowned name in the wider fields of Dark Wave-Pop and Gothic music. Alexander Veljanov and
Ernst Horn are a totally complementary duo. They released multiple albums and songs, which became history. Early this year they struck back with the “Dual” album, which was the first new studio work in seven years. A special album on which Deine Lakaien presented cover versions. By the end of this year we now get “Dual+” featuring ten new songs and more cover versions.

Content: The album is not just a ‘classic’ cover album, but also a way to adapt some of the band’s influences into their own songs. Cover versions have been made of Pink Floyd, REM and DEVO while there’s also a personal interpretation/adaptation of Michail Iwanowitsch Glinka. Just listen to “Losing My Religion” –originally written by REM, to realize the work the duo accomplished. “Dual+” is a very personal and intimate work, moving from reverie and delicate sound arrangements to more bombastic and harder passages. The album features Neo-Classic piano arrangements, but still more nervous passages with on top of the creation, the charismatic vocals of Veljanov.

+ + + : “Dual+” sounds to me like a true intimate work and also a very personal interpretation of some influential artists and covers. “Run 2^nd Version” is a really beautiful piece; an artistic exposure transposed into sonic reverie. I also want to mention the brilliant transformation of “Losing My Religion”, which sounds just like Deine Lakaien would have been the original composers. I also like the delicacy emerging from the opening track “Cradle Song” and the cover version of Pink Floyd’s “Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun”, which reveals less sound layers to reach a maximum effect. A last cut I want to mention is the more bombastic “Fork”.

– – – : “Dual+” is maybe not the most accessible album of Deine Lakaien, but it has to be seen as an album, which means a lot to the artists.

Conclusion: I think I might say that I missed Deine Lakaien, this band remains a very unique experience in sound and impossible to compare with another formation.

Best songs: . “Run 2^nd Version”, “Losing My Religion”, “Cradle Song”, “Set the Controls For The Heart Of The Sun”, “Fork”, “Wiegenlied”.

Rate: 8.

Artist: www.deine-lakaien.com / www.facebook.com/DeineLakaien

Labels: https://www.chrom.de/en / https://en.prophecy.de / www.facebook.com/prophecyproductions

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