Slaraffenland is one of those rare bands that sound like a lot of bands you've heard, but present it so differently it comes off as sounding like something new and better. All the right elements are here - haunting, chant-like vocals, cryptic lyrics, and a "big" sound that is restrained. Then to top it off they add beautiful horns and flutes and clarinets to just about every song. The end result sounds like Radiohead's Amnesiac married with Talk Talk's Laughing Stock with help from Jim O'Rourke. Or something like that. And We're On Your Side is more accessible than Private Cinema. I mean, it's still downer music, but christ, if Private Cinema is being in a haunted house, We're On Your Side is the feeling you get looking back after you've gotten out. I can't really explain this record anymore. All I can tell you is that it's incredible. Songs wash in and out, never really going anywhere yet still interesting enough to keep you coming back, and there are scratches and walls of noise and stops and starts and breaks of silence.... Track three "Too Late To Think" starts off nice and simple with an acoustic progression but by the end, it has blurred and swelled into this amazing horn outro. "Hunting" is one of my favorites and when he sings, "I assure you that i won't track you down..." it just adds another level of eeriness to the album. Start to finish, We're On Your Side is a fantastic album that should not be overlooked this year.
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