VNV nation - Matter + Form

VNV Nation

Matter + Form
Electronica/Dance

Anachron Sounds (Europe)
Metropolis Records (US)
SSC (Scandinavia)

7/8

VNV Nation is a not well heard of band, but they are definitely good. They are into the fun and fast paced songs, but they also can produce a wonderful and thoughtful laid back song.

One very energetic song is "Perpetual". A song that uses different techniques to change the song, but still posses a smooth feel. The voice in it is also amazing. It has a above-human feel to it, as if it is telling an important, life changing message. They mixed the voice and the interments to produce a wonderful song.

A much slower, but not at all worse, song is "Endless Skies". It starts off slow, and a bit repetitive with the same pattern of noise, but changes into a vocal piece. It is as if you are sitting in a boat, slowly drifting down a river, looking up at the sky, just looking. Thinking. Pondering. Just completely lost in the moment. Along with this it also has a underlining up beat tone to it. It pulls of slow and fast together into one song. This song fills you up with peace, even if only for a moment. It also has a beautiful ending finishing off with;
"You live within the sense
Of the stillness of time".

Like "Endless Skies", "Colours Of Rain" is a slow and thoughtful song, but it is much sadder. It has the tone of death, or betrayal. It mixes slow keys from the piano with a quivering violin. Beautiful as it is, it doesn't quite fit with the other songs. In an album with fun and upbeat songs, it slows the tempo down. Despite that fact, a truly wonderful piece.

Final song. "Arena" is a song that uses new techniques like many of the other songs. But it puts the beat of the song out beautifully. This song sounds like new life being born. A new chance. It is smooth and artsy and absolutely astounding. It has sounds from out of this world. A very beautiful piece.
These four songs should be listened to at least once.

The biggest downside to Matter + Form is that a lot of the songs I didn't mention are all very similar and repetitive. "Chrome", "Strata", "Interceptor" and "Entropy" all have the same intro, mildly slow, getting into the beat. Then they go to a very loud and intense section, then settling for something in between the two. After that they go back to the loud and the end up by slowly fading out the sound. Even if the sounds of them are different, its the same pattern. Just gets a bit repetitive if listened over and over to.

El songs. (Spanish is infecting my mind)

Jerry Lee Lewis, “Great Balls of Fire” (1957): It's somewhat similar to the other songs in the 1950's, but I like it a bit more. Probably from what happens to his voice when saying "great". It's an interesting technique and adds something that sets it apart from the other songs. It has a lot of piano, mildly quick song, the singer has a distanced feel. I guess, this is the song that would describe the start of Rock and Roll for me. In my mind, most of the stuff in the 1950's sounds like this, making this the heart of the 1950's. This song also stood out to me. Not sure why, it just does.

The Beatles, “I Saw Her Standing There” (1963): I have always enjoyed listening to the Beatles, and this song reminds me of the times when I was small and would listen to them with my dad. I guess it triggered a memory from my childhood, strangely enough. Not much else. I like the song as far as songs go. It has a sort of "Home-like" feel to it. Something you'd sit around with family talking about nothing while drinking a warm drink.




Black Sabbath, “Paranoid” (1970): Its a, hard to understand song? Well, it does fit its title. "The Misunderstood Decade". It doesn't sound close or anything. It sounds like someone from the sidelines, looking at whatever is going on. It gives a distanced feeling. It also isn't easy to understand some of the lyrics, you have to listen hard to get them. It seems as if the meaning is hidden in a mist. I really like the song. The one line that really stands out is "Make a joke and I will sigh and you will laugh and I will cry". This line has been popping up a lot lately. People trying to make something seem smaller by covering it up with a joke. Just thoughts.