Into The Labyrinth (studio album) by Dead Can Dance

"The Wind That Shakes the Barley" (a newly arranged Irish ballad from the 18th century) is beautiful because of the self-assured but modest performance of Lisa Gerrard. It is particularly deserving that music that deviates strongly from contemporary time and culture, thereby losing its popularity and threatening to disappear forever in the past, is brought to the attention again. But at the same time DCD also challenges its listeners. This song is again very fatalistic and seen from the complete album yet another story about saying goodbye and about the sour taste of sadness about what is irrevocably lost. It is hard to argue about the beauty and symbolic emotion of the text, but the a cappella performance does oblige the listener to empathize with a ballad that originated during the earliest history of the Irish struggle for independence, and with that much is demanded of the listener.
"Yulunga" (Spirit Dance) reminds me a lot of the songs from "The Serpent’s Egg": the music is repetitive and pure, the framework for the vocal line minimal, but unfortunately here the track tends to be boring. The venous edge is no longer present. The mysterious and flawlessly performed vocals cannot save the song. The percussion that gives color to the second part of the track is rather corny. Fortunately that cannot be said of the fantastic “The Ubiquitous Mr. Lovegrove”. This song has lyrics that are about a conflict that can hardly be disentangled and an inevitable farewell, but the song is floating on a very catchy "groove" and a peculiar sound atmosphere. Of all the vocal parts on the album, that of "Mr. Lovegrove" is by far the most convincing. The narrator gives the listener a subjective insight into a relationship that has gone wrong. He places the blame on the counterparty and does not shy away from the harsh words and accusations. I have no idea if Perry refers to the broken relationship with Gerrard (or the quarrel with Peter Murphy?). There is a strong pop sensibility to the song (the track was released as a single by the way) but there is also a hard to define dark pulse to it. The choice of exotic instruments is particularly successful and ensures a wonderful, transparent balance. I think this is the song that saves the record. It abstains from sadness and fatalism and remains entertaining. "Tell Me About The Forest" unfortunately fails despite the good vocals of Perry. This song has neither the identity nor the charm that many other earlier DCD songs do have. The track “The Spider’s Stratagem” also doesn't appeal to me. The formula with repetitive percussion lines shows wear and the arrangements are skilled, but can no longer surprise. It's a shame to have to determine this, but the magic is gone and the song also lasts way too long. "Emmeleia" is a gem that strongly relies on multilayer vocals and bears witness to technical mastery, but the emotion and powerful rendition of the similar "Echolalia" on "The Serpent's Egg" are completely absent and only a cool, even uninterested kind of detachment remains. The unexpected and the sense of the experiment seem to be gone completely. "How Fortunate the Man With None" doesn't convince me either. Admittedly: the lyrics have a certain charm, but again the song falls prey to the success formula that made DCD such a wonderfully adventurous band. "The Carnival Is Over" doesn't interest me either. Perry has already composed several similar songs, but this track does not reach the high level of the previous albums. What intrigues me is the fact that Perry literally quotes Joy Division in his lyrics ("The procession moves on ..." from the song "The Eternal"). Is it a tribute or theft? No. Brendan Perry is a very honest musician and it is certainly not theft. But you never really know for sure, do you? "Saldek" is an excursion from Lisa Gerrard, but she too makes too much use of mannierist interventions that conceal a lack of originality. Again: for a fan it is painful to find out how this album only contains a few good songs. "Towards the Within" is good. Not that this track is full of inspiration and originality, because here too DCD falls back on a formula that has been used too often, but all components have a clear identity here and can convince this time. I dare not say for sure, but it is as if the record is suffering from the break between two lovers (Gerrard - Perry) who experience that it is difficult to keep everything professional and to work together as usual. However, the record company still believes in the band and although production is not really nagging, it seems that the momentum is gone.

For me by far their best album, to be honest I don’t like some of their other albums.

As a whole, this is their best album. No weak tracks at all.

From Norman Bates 01/27/2013 15:45

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