SILENT PROMISES RESOLUTION ALBUM STRANGE WAYS RELEASE: OCTOBER 23, 2000 REVIEW: NOVEMBER 21, 2000

If I had reviewed Silent Promises five years ago, I would have awarded it a significantly higher grade. I've grown up to become more critical towards synthpop in general. And though it's still my favourite genre, I used to embrace almost every release back then. There are many great acts to be found in this particular field of music, but there's no getting around the trash that keeps getting signed and granted releases.
Silent Promises land somewhere in between, giving us strong songs mixed with failed attempts. German, choruses and dark, type A vocals. "Resolution" as an EP would have been a better choice than an album, without the fillers. "Mind of Life", "Feel Like I Do" and the beautiful instrumental closing piece "Jaqueline" all represent the talented Silent Promises, while most of the other tracks unmercifully proves their weaknesses. I still enjoy smaller doses of Silent Promises and fans of bands like N.ever.Endless may want to give "Resolution" a try.

NIKLAS FORSBERG