Artist: Assemblage 23

Title- Compass

Label:Metropolis

Reviewers: Linda and Nikademus

Genre: ElectronicRelease

Date: 23rd October 2009  

Wow!  Tom Shear has done it again with his newest release “Compass.”  Although there are some similarities to previous albums, this one you can hear a change into a new direction.  For those of you that have not yet discovered Assemblage 23, this is the album you must have and I’m sure you will become an instantaneous fan!  For those of you that are already Assemblage23 fans, you are in for a sonic treat.  With his catchy tunes, and clubby nuances, Compass is sure to keep you going on the dance floor and your fingers off the next button on your iPod! Compass proves to be Tom’s greatest work yet, with a great deal of lyrical diversity encompassing several topics and storylines from song to song, this album is a treat from beginning to end, sending your listening taste buds on a journey, hence the album’s title “Compass”.    The album’s diversity truly allows you to take several story paths depending on what song order you decide to line up in your playlist.  In addition to the diversity in the album’s lyrics, the musical composition from song to song takes many turns, keeping you interested, sampling a different flavor with each and every song.   Commenting on a more detailed level of granularity, individually, each song differs a bit from beginning to end.  Although Toms songs for the most part, follow a standard musical composition structure, hence Intro, Chorus, Verse, Bridge, chorus, outro etc. Each element is slightly different then the last.  In other words, and for example, the second and third verse and choruses in “spark” are different than the previous, making the composition slightly progressive, e.g. using a different synth sound like an arpeggio sequence in the first chorus, and perhaps a subtle trance-gated synth sound in the last chorus. In addition to Spark, another excellent tune of Tom’s is “Smoke”.  The song is very catchy, and contains synth sounds that are what I would like to describe as “scary-ringing- distorted-guitar-strings-of-fear”, along with raid sirens, the tune definitely screams nuclear holocaust and sends messages of fear and hope in the same story.In conclusion and in other words, this album is chock full of good tunes from the first song to the last.  There are no fillers here.  It is no surprise that someone that has turned out 30+ albums has mastered his game and has the ability to amaze his fans with every new album he produces.   Compass is a definite gem for sure, and will keep your interest fresh and your anticipation satisfied.

Tracklist

01. Smoke
02. Collapse
03. Impermanence
04. How Can You Sleep
05. Spark
06. Leave This All Behind
07. Alive
08. Greed
09. Angels & Demons
10. The Cruelest Year

Bonus CD (Limited Edition only)
01. Spark [Burikusu RMX]
02. Grind
03. Alone Again
04. Chosen
05. Greed [KMFDM RMX]


 Website: https://assemblage23.com 
 

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