Shelter is the fifth studio album by Belgian electronic music pioneer Enzo Kreft after his return to the music industry. The Belgian musician released two cassettes (Me is! and Cicatrice) in the early eighties that were later compiled on the Dark Matter compilation in 2016, the result of a modern interest in electronic gems from the eighties. That year he returned with an album of new material entitled Turning Point, which marked the path to his new works. We already recommended his previous work, Different World, a few years ago, and if you like this new Shelter, we invite you to continue also with Control or Wasteland, other recommendable albums.
If there is one thing that has caught my attention about Shelter, it is that it is a very varied album. With Enzo’s characteristic synthpop/minimal as a starting point, he manages to make very different tracks. The apocalyptic and dark tone of the album hides an accurate criticism of the world we are living in and the wars and crises they entail.
We seem to take off with the first track, “Here Come the Birds of Prey”, but it is the last hope of Earth that seems to be moving away. If there is one thing that stands out in this song, it is the presence of guitars, something not very frequent in previous Enzo Kreft albums. Otherwise, this instrumental track serves as a perfect introduction with its sober and ominous sound. In the second track, “Standing on the Soil of Another” we already have the recognisable voice of the Belgian musician helped with a quite catchy chorus and again with guitars in a composition that talks about the invasions of other countries. The moving and ironic “Duck and Cover” features an original 80’s style of singing and an ominous keyboard line. “Blood Diamonds” reminds me of the good materila created by The Human League. The anti-militarist anthem “No to These Atrocities” has a rawer, more minimal, almost techno synth sound. “The Power to Turn the Tide” is an instrumental somewhere between epic and dreamy. Dreamy is also
“A Refugee Song”, with keyboards with a sensibility similar to that which characterised Vangelis’ music. “War Winter” is spoken word with a dark electronic background. “On the Run Looking for Shelter” is a catchy and danceable composition in Enzo’s style.
We are approaching the end with another beautiful instrumental track, the short “The Last Stand”, which has a certain air of defeat and “There is no tomorrow” with a curious chorus and where its careful production stands out. “100 Seconds to Midnight” is the end in every sense with a countdown with post apocalyptic sounds that is dramatically cut off after passing ten. With such a fanstastic soundtrack, one could sing: It’s the end of the world as we know and I feel fine.
