"A Posteriori" is the sixth album by Enigma and I am playing the recent reissue from the "Complete Studio Albums" box set.
You will be unsurprised to learn this album opens with the "Enigma Foghorn" and some atmospheric synth textures. But this is pretty much the last we will hear of the tried and tested 'Enigma formula' on this record. Whilst other albums have sought to develop the sound of the band, nothing has been quite as radical as we will encounter here.
The first signs of this change of direction are heard at the end of "Eppur Si Muove" and progressed on the second track "Feel Me Heaven". Both of tracks feature some intriguing trance riffs and a minimalist approach to drum programming. Whilst Cretu is using trance and EDM motifs we aren't about to descend into a Deadmau5 pastiche - everything remains suitably restrained.
There isn't a Gregorian chant or Shakuhachi flute to be heard as we move through "Dreaming of Andromeda" and the excellent "Dancing With Mephisto". Whilst "Northern Lights" is a little slow and lacking a significant melody, the next track "Invisible Love" resurrects those synth arpeggios and electro drums to great effect.
"Message from 10" is one of my favourites on this album as it has an excellent hook and is set against a pulsating electro backdrop. Something about this track reminds me of Jean Michel Jarre - you can take that as a compliment or condemnation based upon your own proclivities The album version of "Hello + Welcome" is a shadow of the single version and is something of a disappointment as a result. "20,000 Miles Over the Sea" treads familiar ground but the electro influences come to the surface a little more prominently on "Sitting on the Moon". Penultimate track "The Alchemist" again sounds like something Jarre would have produced around the turn of the millennium but closing track "Goodbye Milky Way" is just annoying. 3/5
