Ideal Crash

As other reviewers have indicated it took some (long) time before Belgian dEUS finally released a new album.

Opposite the two earlier albums this is truly a whole album with a consistent sound throughout all tracks.
As this means that a lot of the anarchy from earlier times has been discarded, a lot of the old fans would find themselves a bit disappointed with this record.
What had happened was a shift from the more playful experiment into music with strong empathises on the text.
Front singer Tom Barman has on this record nurtured his style into a matter-of-factly almost storytelling way of singing which allows him with great surplus to make just tiny, small changes in the voice that leaves you in no doubt whether the expression is angry, sorrowful or (rarely) happy.
The music seems to be written for the words, rather than the other way around, which elevates both lyrics and music into a greater whole.

There are so many layers in the music, and opposite earlier keyboards or synthesizers are adding to the different moods. The trumpet, good string sessions and even a banjo ensures that the sound picture is in no way like anybody else's.

There is still a lot of noise in dEUS, but on this record it has surely been tamed and given an illustrating point. This have without disappointed a lot of the fans of the more anarchistic previous records, but if the listener's ear tunes in on the lyrics rather than the style, it will become clear that this record is in no way lesser challenging - or even violent.

As I know no other band that manages to tell stories like dEUS on this record - and do so with music as well as lyrics - this record is not only unique. It is also brilliant!

First heard this album back in 1999 on holiday with my mates, few weeks after waking up to Sister Dew on Radio One. One of those albums that, coupled with the right mood, will leave you reminiscing. Sister Dew is a classic, as are most of the other songs on here. In fact I wandered around singing Ideal Crash earlier and remembered I needed to buy the album again (original copy was stolen!!!).

I bought this record when it got released back in 1999. I had loved every dEUS cd but was a very disappointed when listening to "The ideal crash" the first time. In fact, the record started getting very good after the 10th listen and I still regularly spin it nowadays!