Clan Of Xymox – Breaking Point

This is the most perfect album of Clan Of Xymox , combining the old with the new : a journey through sonic landscapes , alternating , sad and lonely places come to mind but also cynical lyrics like "Be my Friend" , obviously about someone Ronny wants to be left alone by:)
Cynara, Pandora's Box , We Never Learn, Eternally are the most beautiful slow ballads I have heard in a long time. The energetic Weak In My Knees , What's Going On and Under The Wire proves Clan Of Xymox are pumping out dance floor killers with every release. One of the most gripping songs to me is Calling You Out , a song about most likely the Gothic Scene or maybe Ronny's friends..maybe we get an answer in an interview on that one. In Short a PERFECT album and I could not wish for more. This band amazes me with every release and I think they are the leading forces of todays musical stream!

On their newest album, Clan of Xymox shows little progression from their preceding release, "Farewell," and it even appears to me to be a step backwards if anything. While "Farewell" was a leap from the typical [Clan of] Xymox release, it still showed a fair amount of musical creativity and boasted a handful of catchy, well-written songs. Yet, "Breaking Point" lacks these attributes and this results in a mediocre album in which most of the upbeat songs all sound pretty much alike. At the same time, the downtempo songs only vary from the upbeat ones in the variance between their BPM's, while the vocals and synths remain static. The overall feel of the album comes off as being somewhat cliche and utterly boring at times, as the gothic/electro/synthpop style of the release shows zero hints of the darker EBM-esque facets which prevented "Farewell" from stagnating. As well, some of Mr. Moorings facile lyrics do not help this matter at all. Still, i must mention that this wasn't exactly an album whose release i was holding my breath for in anticipation, and a hardcore COX fan may find worth here. But let's just say that i'm glad i ed it first instead of buying it blindly solely based on the band's colourful back catalogue.