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Antenne, "#3"
Antenne is Kim G. Hansen, formerly of Institute for the Criminally Insane, with vocals from Marie-Louise Munck. Together, they use electronics, acoustic guitar, and voice to make music of strange and delicate beauty. These are moody pieces for a rainy day, strong in execution if lacking in variety.
They do a great job of maintaining a melancholic air throughout the album, but unfortunately some of the songs lose their distinction in the process. While the similar tempo on each song is partly to blame, Munck's vocals also glaze these tracks with a recurring familiarity. Her voice is good, but her frail, slightly trembling delivery doesn't vary enough in its emotional intent. As a result, the first few songs come across as one long track with the vocals becoming less noticeable and less important over time.
What comes to the fore instead is the subdued background electronics, which are subtle but quite effective. An inventive, varied approach makes them the album's true draw, even if it takes attentive listening to pick out what's going on. Despite this, the album's instrumentals fall into the same pitfall as the other songs, going on for far too long with little development. The saxophone on "Ttreea #7" combats this well, and it's a strategy that could have been exploited effectively elsewhere on the album.
Still, much of #3 is pretty and peaceful. It may not have a wide range of expression, but it does a great job of sustaining a singular mood.
