In This City

Album review

In This City takes one of the most alluring tracks from Enon's breakthrough album, High Society, and gives it the deluxe treatment, offering three different versions of the song, including the video, along with two previously unreleased songs and additional videos for "Carbonation" and "Pleasure and Privilege." The "Soap Mix" of "In This City" sounds appropriately frothy, emphasizing the bubbly synths that made the original version so appealing, while Deadverse's remix takes the song in a late-night, dub-inflected direction. While both of the mixes are good, Enon fans will want the single for the videos and the two previously unreleased tracks. "Murder Sounds" is an instrumental version of a song to be released on the group's third album, Hocus Pocus; judging by its clean, propulsive bassline and angular melody, it sounds like the album will be a further refinement on Enon's unique fusion of punk and new wave. "Inches," meanwhile, returns to the sludgy experimentalism of Believo! for inspiration, and at this point in their career, it's clear to see why it's a B-side. Overall, though, In This City is a well-crafted look at Enon's past, present, and future, and should please the band's most rabid fans.
© Heather Phares /TiVo