Search - Enon :: Believo

Believo it

J. Rossi | Downers Grove, IL | 06/25/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Enon is the latest endevour of John Schmersal, once guitarist for the now defunct Brainiac, and this album doesn't fall too far from the tree. But where Brainiac melded pop, punk, and new wave, Enon strides comfortably into techno (For the Sum of it) and even some classic soul ("Rubber Car") in addition to the the new wave pop/punk axis. "Cruel," with breathy vocals and somber tone sounds like something Elysian Fields might do, and "Conjugate the Verbs" would make every critics top 10 list if Beck had done it. The worst thing about this album is that it is over so quickly - it clocks in at around 35 minutes. Hopefully Enon can keep producing records of this quality. If they do, they seem destined to have the same kind of underground influence as Brainiac and Man...Or Astroman?"

Enon ist rad

Ken Neld | Maine | 04/30/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"With the turn of the decade, music fans are scrambling to find that one album that's really going to kick off a new era of music; the next "Slanted and Enchanted", "Spiderland", or "It Takes A Nation Of Millions..." if you will. While admitedly its far to early in the decade to place any album in that prestigious lineage, Enon's "Believo!" is a good pony to bet on. Truly an album that couldn't have been made 10 years ago, Enon takes the "kitchen sink" aesthetic of the Elephant Six collective, woozy, Pavement-style hooks, and gender-bending vocals a-la Beck and wrings it all through a Power Book for a decidedly futuristic sound. The result is an album that constantly threatens to collapse under the enormous weight of it's own inventiveness. Acoustic guitars strum gently behind a wash of crashing electronic waves; breaking dishes serve as drum loops; vocals are spliced to the point of total incoherence... and it all works. In the hands of a lesser band this would sound like a desperate attempt to drag their music kicking and screaming into the 21st century. Luckily, Enon has a rock-solid understanding that no matter how much technology changes the sound and flavor of music, it will never change the fact that a good melody; good song writing is what people will ultimately connect to, and "Believo!" has it in spades. I shudder to think about what Enon will do next."

Unique

Mr. D. J. Johnston | Earth | 07/21/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Believo! is the first album I listened to by Enon and it's still my favorite. Their unusual style with strange vocals, use of organs and sound effects makes for strange sounding music, but the melodies are excellent and very catchy. I listened to part of their newer CD High Society but wasn't as impressed. In it they sound more mainstream and seem to have lost some of their original style in the process. That's why I recommend this CD over High Society to anyone who is looking for great orignal tracks."