Apparently, comparisons between Diorama and Diary of Dreams have already been made by other critics and fans in the past, and while “A Different Life” marks my first experience with this German electronic dark wave act, I can certainly see why that is a salient association. Melancholic and rife with a frigid sense of ennui, the musical architectures have quite a similar darkwave foundation.

Even Torben Wendt's vocals are eerily similar to those of Dreams' Adrian Hates, but while Hates's compositions have since ventured into more organic terrain over the years, Wendt's heart remains synthetic. With only slender shades of electric guitar keeping their facade from being utterly electronic, his work is closer to Hates' beginnings, dwelling instead in a place where the digital elements take center stage.
For me, Diorama's most enchanting moments are where they display a bit of synthpop cadence.
From its bristled humming synth arpeggio intro to its clockwork snares arrangement, "Why" stands as a perfect example of one their more futurepop-minded works. Trembling and tense, Wendt's airy vocals compliment its melancholic atmosphere, while broad strokes of electric guitar and icy lead synth lend its soundtrack a bit of consonance. In "Synthesize Me", spidery arpeggios crawl in sync with a steady bass pulse, and even though Wendt's vocal idiosyncrasies remain the same, its chorus is quite compelling. Instilling his brittle-hearted spirit with reverberating baroque piano, cymbal splashes, and thick power chords, it is a hook that definitely presents an interesting marriage of orchestral drama and thumping dance music.
Like assembling a musical cake, "Exit the Grey" builds from a foundation of icy bells, stacking upon it a layer of subtle arpeggio, then a steady bass thump, and finally crowning its tower of synchronicity with a pairing of hi-hat and handclap drum pads. Cemented into a perfect dance stomp, Wendt seeps in frigid and detached, his somber tone complicated during its chorus by a rally of cymbals and an equally arctic lead synth.
However, when Diorama diverges away from their dance-metered course and into more cinematic terrain, they don't quite hit Hates' breathtaking levels of vivid sonic artistry, but are nonetheless quite picturesque. In "Colder", the disc's halcyon conclusion, snares stutter and clap in gentle waves, while synthesizers whistle like ocean winds and glimmer like distant falsetto constellations. Here, Wendt sounds oddly at peace, his breezy tone drifting lightly though before the affair concludes in a staggered drum solo and violin concerto finale.
Finally, "No Tears" is teary-eyed with sonic sentimentality, its vocals arriving to comfort and sympathize amongst a tender piano rain shower. Despite light taps of tin roof drums and the aloof sigh of electronics, it remains surprisingly upbeat during most of its stay, and finally departs with a gentle wind-chime twinkle in a state of zen.
Although it is hard to ignore Diorama's resemblance to Diary of Dreams, “A Different Life” is a pretty strong effort at illustrating the thin, bleak line between darkwave and futurepop. It may not be unique, but its synthetic shades are at times reminiscent of bands like Assemblage 23, a dance candor aspect that keeps Diorama a bit more rhythmically upbeat than their somber counterpart. Either way, Wendt is a talent, and hopefully he'll one day be able to shirk any such allusions and plod out a course that is purely his own.

(8/10)

text: Vlad McNeally