The Legendary Pink Dots’ records now come out in sets, and this is the companion album to “The Whispering Wall” that these now Holland-based imagined to counterbalance the sadness of a claustrophobic album. In deep, though, “Poppy Variations” is as sad as his fake twin is, because it’s all constructed around the memory of the feelings Edward Ka-Spel had when he learnt the death of princess Diana. Lighter than they’re used to be, these compositions fortunately have nothing in common with the not very commendable hymn by Sir Elton John. The band even dares to get the head out of the studio on L’Oiseau rare, to have a look at the outside world, and then prefer to end the song in its own with blurred shapes and where sound waves don’t look like the ones we know. This record would compare to their 2002 “Synesthesia”, as it seems to be recorded with very few equipment, without any unnecessary track (The Equaliser, The Hot Breath on Your Neck, Personal Monster). Edward Ka-Spel’s voice has never been so close to your ears, and despite some peculiar bagpipes ambiances (The Poppy Variations), once again, he manages to associate intimate melodies with very long tracks, born from the fusion of three or four other ones, solidified haphazardly. With its very nice and sober sleeve, this digipack maybe is the passport to their origins for this English band, as they ran away from England in the 80s, and today they surprisingly deliver an homage to one disappeared figure of “their” monarchy.

Bertrand Hamonou
(The date of this review is unknown.)

In more than twenty years and almost three times as many records, the Legendary Pink Dots flirted with the sublime and sometimes the abyss, as now each of their new productions comes with a little fright: what side of their talent will they choose to express this time? It’s a sad album they deliver here with “The Whispering Wall”, on which Soft Toy plays a trick with a bass, an organ and some guitars. At the beginning of the second track, A Distant Summer, we find ourselves back where “All the King’s Horses” ended in 2002, with even some more fragility. Fragile and sad, Edward Ka-Spel really is on the touching In Sickness and in Health which reminds of the melancholy of Cheating the Shadow that figured on their 1998 “Nemesis Online” album. He, who told us with confidence, that he recently realized that his band would never change the world as much as he’s liked it to, would he only comfort himself to know how much his band has changed his fans’ lives? Of course, Peek a Boo sounds like a bad joke, but The Divide follows the tradition of the long psyche-rock hallucinated-everyday-story, like the ones the singer improvises during concerts. The best of this album surely is the long and last track, made of the three songs Sunken Pleasure / Rising Pleasure / No Walls, No Strings where Edward affords himself a beautiful cold a capella moment, before being snatched by a wall of bagpipes from where whispers of new age sequences get out, close to the Silverman’s solo efforts.

Bertrand Hamonou
(The date of this review is unknown.)

The Legendary Pink Dots can get toppled by their own ambition, and often their albums are murky messes hung up on some obscure concept. With two albums on the same heavy concept (All the King’s Horses and All the King’s Men) behind them, Whispering Wall is a casual return to the old ways and a decent entry point for anyone attempting to take the unwieldy band on. Opening numbers on Dots albums are often good indicators of what’s in store, and the driven “Soft Toy” is a good sign. Chugging guitar isn’t what you normally hear on their records, but it’s the basis of “Soft Toy” and the first of many surprises. Radiohead would be proud to call the fairly-straightforward-for-the-Dots “A Distant Summer” their own and “King of a Small World” is faux-jazz that Queen of Siam-era Lydia Lunch would have killed for. Believe it or not, “Peek-A-Boo” sounds like the Dots at Studio One with lead singer Edward Ka-Spel out-jestering Lee “Scratch” Perry. The highlight of the album, “For Sale,” is evidence that Ka-Spel has been listening to both Casino Versus Japan and Michael Nyman, one of the most polished Dots tunes ever, and a great way to introduce the band to whomever you’re trying to drag to one of their shows. There’s plenty of the usual wandering and the ending opus is over 12 minutes, so don’t think they’ve lost it and gone all pop. The Dots still make everyone else look succinct but if you’ve ever wanted to dabble in their world, do it now.

by David Jeffries
(The date of this review is unknown)

Artist: The Legendary Pink Dots
Album: The Whispering Wall
Label: ROIR
Year of Release: 2004
ME Rating: 4 out of 5
Reviewed by: Dennis Scanland
Date Reviewed: 2004-11-13

I’m probably not the right person to be doing this Legendary Pink Dots review because I hardly know them. Sure, they have been around since 1980 but it’s a little intimidating to try and tackle a catalog of about 1000 albums. But really, I’ve been told by a fan or two that Whispering Wall is as good a place to start as any. The Whispering Wall is the Dots third album for reputable indie ROIR. They aren’t as intimidating as I had originally thought. Sure, they are a little crazy as heard on strange tracks like “Peek-a-Boo” but really, they fit into a rack right alongside Olivia Tremor Control and would look normal. Their music is a little whimsical at times and a little over the top at others but for the most part, I found The Legendary Pink Dots to be totally listenable and enjoyable and this album to be one of the better ones that I have heard this year.

Artist: Legendary Pink Dots
CD Title: The Whispering Wall
Label: ROIR
Reviewer: Matthew Johnson
Date: 8/19/04
Legendary Pink Dots- The Whispering Wall

More upbeat than their last double-CD, the newest album from the Legendary Pink Dots moves in new directions while retaining the essential elements of their unique formula. Front man Edward Ka-Spel’s unmistakable voice leads the way, singing in soft a capella on “Rising Pleasure,” wailing brokenly on the blues-infused “King Of A Small World,” and rambling through the paranoid spoken-word fable “The Divide.” The Silverman’s keyboards are subtle but effective, adding a modern feel to the droning dub of “A Distant Summer” while taking us back in time with the echoing church bells and gorgeous piano melodies of “No Walls, No Strings.” Niels Van Hoornblower’s saxophones are as exceptional as ever, giving us spiraling flickers of jazz on “Soft Toy” and even hints of mariachi on the perky “Peek-A-Boo,” and new guitarist Erik Drost proves himself with the mellow atmospherics of “For Sale” and the good old-fashioned instrumental space rock of “The Region Beyond.” Though most of this material falls squarely into the psychedelic rock genre, there is still plenty of the Dots’ signature strangeness, best exemplified by the song “Dominic,” which starts out with slow, jazzy chords before lunging inexplicably into a frantic melange of calliope and sea shanty. The fact that Ka-Spel begins the first verse by inviting us to “make an omelet out of Egghead” proves that despite catchy hooks and pleasant melodies, the Dots are as weird and wonderful as ever.

Artist: Legendary Pink Dots
Album: The Whispering Wall
Label: ROIR
Review date: Jul. 23, 2004

Edward Ka-Spel has led his Legendary Pink Dots through 25 years, a relocation from East London to the Netherlands in 1985, whilst producing numerous records for labels such as Play It Again Sam, Wax Trax, Staalplaat and Soleilmoon.

The Whispering Wall is the Dots third album for the ROIR imprint and marks a minor shift away from its predecessors All The King’s Horses and All The King’s Men. Those records documented a band in transition, still coming to terms with the departure of long term member Ryan Moore. The Whispering Wall is a more fully realised piece, heralding the return of a more familiar sound, pushing Ka-Spel’s lazy lounge lizard croon to the fore, almost Dick Van Dyke-like at times; his lyrics evoke a warped childhood, full of theme park rides where the ghost train is perhaps a little too realistic and even the carousel is a white knuckle ride. These dark narratives are placed within a backdrop of densely layered noise – psychedelic swirls of color and whimsy that bring to mind a more organic sounding Coil or the lighter moments of Skinny Puppy (with whom Ka-spel has often collaborated with under the mantle of Tear Garden). However, The Damned, when Dave Vanian and his motley were in their pantomime goth years, also spring readily to mind.

On particularly good form on this album is the appropriately named Niels Van Hoornblower, on saxophone and clarinet, who raises his respective instruments’ voices above the misty ether, taking over when Ka-Spel’s is once more enveloped by the sonic swamp. His well considered contributions add a spectral finesse to the almost alien “In Sickness & In Health,” while the superb “For Sale” sounds like a conversation between heart broken ghosts, mourning the lost loves they left behind on the mortal coil.

The Whispering Wall, brim full of interesting and worthwhile things to say, both musically and lyrically, is in itself a great achievement. That it has been produced by a band now in its 25th year is nothing short of astonishing.

By Spencer Grady