ENIGMA
THE SCREEN BEHIND THE MIRROR
ALBUM VIRGIN RELEASE: JANUARY 17, 2000 REVIEW: MARCH 2, 2000


Remember the fluffy haired, energetic man with the red synth guitar singing about Samurais? Who would have thought so much talent was hidden behind that rather tasteless facade. OK, I enjoyed "Samurai", but Michael Cretu didn’t make a lasting impression on me until the Enigma debut single, "Sadness". A gem featuring Gregorian choirs, his wife Sandra’s soft voice and fat, deep bass drums.
On "The Screen Behind the Mirror", Enigma album number four, it’s still the pompous and the grandeur music hypnotizing you, giving you the feeling you’ve heard it before but still with a craving for more. It’s more of the same, but refreshed.
An interesting approach on the first single release from the album, "Gravity of Love", is the use of traditional verse-chorus concepts, combined with the Enigma trademark, which proves to be a winning strategy, as this song is one of the highlights.
The production is glimmering, as well as the beautiful sleeve. The contents also proves that Enigma may not have taken their thing all the way just yet. There’s still a need for their kind of relaxation, in today’s climate of increasing stress. And when it’s as nicely put together as "The Screen Behind the Mirror", I’d say most people could enjoy at least a small dosage of the Enigma dreamscape ambience.
A small deduction, though, for the use of parts of Depeche Mode’s "Only When I Lose Myself" intro in "Traces (Light and Weight)".
And yes, the "Sadness" flute is used on this album too, but who can get enough of it?

NIKLAS FORSBERG