After the previous album I felt like it was like as if changes where coming. In some lyrics it was even hinted. Some songs sounded differently and those ones got us prepared for The Kinematics of Doubt. This is the 15th album (on top of a career of 30 years) created out of the mastermind of Len and yes as a produces he knows how to get his stuff nicely done, check it out with me:
I decided to make it a track by track review, something hated and despised by some media outlets but loved by artists as otherwise it feels like the other songs are not worth it or simply let out of the album, so yes: I respect this artist by working it out like this!
The Observer Effect could be about the guy who observed what happened to Implant over the years and hinted for this change. It’s Len again on i’s own, playing and fooling around in his own world and finally feeling happy again, that is what the observer thinks and yes the observer knows certain things, more than anybody. The song goes back into the good old EBM sound with a well-greased voice.
Underneath The Neon Lights is the story of what the rise of the machines brought up, together with a stirring electronical sound. The song feels like rebirth: losing the past but standing up in the future and getting back stronger and wiser.
Pills sometimes pills help to forget about the past, but here we get the lyrics and good beats. The song feels like revenge and spitting out everything that stirred him in the past. I feel it’s a sharp song with a great sound.
I’m Only Happy When You Bleed was already launched before. It feels a bit like a revenge song, filled with hate and negative emotions with a roaring sound. It’s clear that Len wants to get rid of somebody that hurt him a lot, it’s also clearly a very personal song. Some of us might even know to whom the song is addressed.
Civilization sums up a bit what goes wrong in our actual era and we know it well enough and yet we continue on the same path. The tempo is a bit slow as it’s clear that the lyrics count more then a speeded up tempo.
Sanity goes back to foot stumping beats, a roaring electronic sound and a very personal story. It feels like something had to change to give back his sanity and it went with a price to pay but the outcome is so much better like this. The song has even a bit of house/techno influences.
Framed is a highlight on this album. I adore the tempo, the beats, the whole feeling that this song gives me.
Transaction Failure has a modern jacked up sound. This song might even become a club hit if launched properly. I also hear a bit of melancholia in the vocals, a bit of sadness.
Are You Crying? Goes back to the 80’s with the typical electric drum sound, a floating synth sound and a slice of trance. The vocals have a cynical sound in it. It’s as if he’s holding the dead body of his enemy in his hands and asking: ‘Are You Crying’. There’s a touch of horror in it, clearly.
Talking In Your Sleep must be about the horror he had to go through whilst trying to survive the hard time he had to survive. Trying to cope with it.
Beyond The Code gives us deep house, trance and a bit of techno with only a few spoken words. Sounds fresh.
Back to the roaring machines with No Apologies Required and that is yet another highlight on this album as I cherish the beats, the tempo, the global sound …
On TV has a little wink toward cctv (an older song that I still love). Seems like TV got him a bit back up his feet, however on TV it’s all fake and unnatural. It’s a bit double sided. The sound is a bit harsh, but fits the lyrics.
The last song is called Wounds and closes a painful part of the past. Slowly burying it with some beats. Clearly the person to whom this one is addressed to had a huge ego and pushed him under, at least that is what I understand from the lyrics. Letters could be mails, love could be friendship … but the ego destroyed it and left wounds that never heal. Ending with 4:36 of pain and sadness.
According to me this is his most personal album, that might also be the reason why there is no duet, not other vocals besides his own. I feel that Len has changed a bit and is now out of the dark tunnel, out of a hard and painful time. The struggling is over and now is the time to change, adapt and move on. It’s also going back to his roots but with on top his experience. I can conclude the album is absolutely worth it!
Crazy thing to know: It’s been indeed 30 years that we know each other. 30 years, a lot of changes, growth, but also hard times and highlights. Keep on going Len and don’t let your ultimate dreams get destroyed!
Implant shares a double release night with Llumen at mOtown in Sint-Joost-ten-Node on November 20, with interactive visuals by Pieter Coussement.
