KIETHEVEZ NON-BINARY ALBUM A DIFFERENT DRUM RELEASE: JULY, 2008 REVIEW: JULY 17, 2008

I never really thought this would happen, but eleven years after their last album “Opium”, KieTheVez have returned. Ever since the debut “Three Empty Words” in 1994 you can tell Depeche Mode have been a huge influence for this band, blending electronic and acoustic instruments to create atmospheric synthpop. But they have always managed to add a bit of their own flavour and in my opinion they were one of the best bands of the Swedish electronic music wave in the 90:s.

So what has happened since the last time? Well it’s still synthpop with a lot of calm, quite sad feelings. The guitars are more present than ever, but the electronic sound always stays close in the background. This sound is more mature and you can hear they have evolved since the last production. They still write great songs, the album is well produced and everything fits together in a complete package.

But that’s also the problem with the album, that everything blends in so nice - nothing is left to stand out. It’s impossible to pick a single from this disc as all songs are fine tuned into one mass. I miss that extra spark to make "Non-Binary" really stand out and become a classic.

This is a nice comeback and I welcome the new sound. Hopefully we don’t have to wait so long the next time.

TOBIAS ELIASSON