On Behind Every Mask, Sleeper depicts a claustrophobic, Orwellian soundscape characterized by fuzzy, ominous tones and textures, industrial beats and paranoid coloring. Haunting and entrancing, the tracks that make up Behind Every Mask are all densely produced and succeed in embodying the techno-totalitarian feeling of dread that loomed over the Bush administration and continues to linger on into the new one.
The only vocals that appear on the album do so in the form of low-quality sound bites, usually in-between songs though they sometimes appear within them, hovering over the menacing backdrop. Each one feels like the kind of thing you hear on 3 a.m. pirate broadcasts where people talk about government conspiracies and aliens and such even though most of the clips contain dialogue that is at best suggestive of only some slight mystery.
At 16 tracks with only two under the three-minute mark, the consistent drudge of Behind Every Mask becomes tedious. Though none of the tracks bleed into each other or are so similar as to be confusing, with no deviation from the sound of sordid gloom and standout tracks, Behind Every Mask likely will only appeal to the most despondent ennui-junkies or those looking for music like the theme from The Terminator, only without the jolly Beach Boys feel. - Popwreckoning |
