VNV NATION MATTER + FORM ALBUM ANACHRON, SSC, METROPOLIS RELEASE: APRIL 4, 2005 REVIEW: APRIL 6, 2005

Ronan Harris and Mark Jackson of VNV Nation have indeed tried to break the mold a bit with this, their fifth album, as earlier reports have stated. The result is a pretty varied affair, ranging from the solemn string washes in “Colours of Rain”, through moody electropop in “Homeward” to furious psy-trance in “Lightwave”.
One thing lacking in the group's earlier material was weight; this problem has been addressed now. Now, the beats are heavier, as are the bass lines. In fact, the whole production side is meatier and more detailed, which might be attributed to using an external producer for the first time, named Humate. Along with this also comes a more organic, live drumming style on both “Arena” and on the supremely catchy “Perpetual”, which is a nice change of pace.
So, is everything as it should be then? Well, not quite. Ronan’s monotone voice still becomes a bit irritating after a while, as he’s not really into varying himself, even though I can sense a small progression in this area as well.
Many of the songs never really start off, and don’t have the same soaring choruses as “Beloved”, for example.
The new single “Chrome” doesn’t make for any sparks at all in me. Neither does the meandering “Endless Skies” (the album's ballad) which cannot compare with the powerful “Carbon” from “Futureperfect”. “Entropy” sure packs a mean punch, but would have benefited from having melody and more variation.
For some reason, the best tracks follow each other at the end of the album, namely the aforementioned “Homeward”, psy-stomper “Lightwave” and the future hit (?) “Perpetual”.
All in all though, I'm afraid "Matter + Form" left me unsatisfied having expected more.

JOHAN CARLSSON