As the obligatory atmospheric intro and 'Enigma Foghorn' fades away, the distinctive string motif of "Seven Lives" brings us out of our reverie. This really is an amazing song that seamlessly incorporates beatboxing, the sound of a dog panting and Cretu's rasping vocals. I really like it.
The strings are retained for the start of "Touchness" which somehow sounds distinctly 'Enigma' without employing any of the old formula. "The Same Parents" is Cretu's stab at a the eternal lament of, "Why do we have to have suffering on Earth?" Imagine "People are People" a half speed with a child reading the lyrics. It's as awful as it sounds. Don't get me wrong, I admire the sentiment (however naive it may be), but the execution is excruciating to listen to.
The next two track pass by without making much impression. Things get a bit rocky with "Fata Morgana" and "Hell's Heaven" threatens to go IDM but nothing really transpires. "La Puerta Del Cielo" is a song in Catalan that I can't penetrate and hearing Michael sing "I'm your Daddy" on "Distorted Love" is enough to make me wince.
The sound of a woman breathlessly saying "Je t'aime" is so clichéd it makes any song employing it impossible to take seriously. If you then add in "The world's most annoying sample™" (a processed vocal of someone saying "Do you love me too?") you have an awful song that I hope to never hear again. I plough through to the end of the album but there is nothing else of interest. How disappointing. Any points this album scores are for the first three tracks alone. 2/5
