DEINE LAKAIEN WHITE LIES ALBUM CHROM, COLUMBIA RELEASE: JANUARY 7, 2002 (GERMANY) REVIEW: FEBRUARY 14, 2002

One can never tell what roams the inner minds of gentlemen Veljanov and Horn. Deine Lakaien are still unique and interesting when it comes to sound structures and production. But "White Lies" shows, unmercifully, some short-comings in the overall song writing. There are twelve tracks on it, none (!) of which surprised me or even appealed strongly to me. That's a first, for me, when it comes to Deine Lakaien.
The debut and "Dark Star" are both dear favourites of mine, as well as large portions of "Forest Enter Exit". It wasn't until "Winter Fish Testosterone" that I started to lose interest in the German duo and their strange, yet typically forward pieces of music. Granted, it had the fantastic "Fighting the Green" and a few other gems, but it didn't hold up as an album as its predecessors did.
"Kasmodiah", their 1999 album, held some innovative and, to use a simple word, entertaining songs, namely "Return" and "Kiss the Future", but they couldn't choke the annoying feeling of stagnation I detected in their sound.
What "White Lies" brings back to the table, though, that has been lost since "Forest Enter Exit", is the clever, obstinate twists and turns and a return to more minimalistic sounds. The single "Generators" as well as "Where You Are" and "Silence in Your Eyes" are the tracks that raise the album from the five to the six point grade. I can't help but feel disappointed, when I know Deine Lakaien's true ability and I can't for the life of me understand why tracks like "Stupid" are included on a new Deine Lakaien studio album. Fitting track title, certainly, but it simply does not belong on "White Lies".

NIKLAS FORSBERG