ZWEILICHT

Im ersten Licht (In The First Light) opens this beautiful sophomore album by Kante (German for 'Edge') telling the things that one can see in the countenance of the person sleeping on the other side of bed. Things that can only be seen in the ephemeral transition from night to day, on the verge to awaken, but still dreaming. Things that painfully crawl into the new day, but won't find a place in memory or understanding, because they are made of fragmentary words and gestures, probably because they are not made to be understood. The repetitive, almost sleepwalk-like melody is underpinned and enhanced by a great string arrangement adding dramatism and sheer atmosphere.

The second and third track maintain the high level of interest on both lyrical and musical level. Die Summe der einzelnen Teile (The Sum Of Every Part) goes for a faster tempo, leading to a great chorus mounted on a big, noisy sounding guitar riff. Ituri (a touristic destination in Africa) reloads the initial theme of the unrealized items in a couple relation, with fantastic texture provided by the strings, and electronically treated voices creating a sort of refrain.

The two longest tracks around here, Best of Both Worlds and Zweilicht, navigate more the experimental side of things, and, even when I clearly prefer the former stuff, they make a good listen for the right moment, being full of great instrumental touches (listen to the clarinet!) and pristine sound quality.

Live at the Electric Avenue returns to the earlier song form (still German lyrics), but with a much lighter (almost pop) spirit. And, closing the album in a mostly instrumental fashion, My Love Is Still Untold adds a few clarinet stylings to the proceedings.

An album that, being maybe not entirely balanced, still remains full of things to enjoy.