United States of Mind (album)
United States of Mind is Covenant's fourth full-length album, released in March 2000.[2] Travelogue was a bonus disc for United States of Mind. The track "You Can Make Your Own Music" is a silent track, in reference to John Cage's song "4′33″". "Like Tears in Rain" was re-recorded in German and released as the single "Der Leiermann", which also included the original version.
| United States of Mind | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 2 March 2000 | |||
| Recorded | 1999 | |||
| Studio | Covenant, Helsingborg, Sweden | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 57:24 | |||
| Label | Metropolis | |||
| Producer | Eskil Simonsson, Joakim Montelius | |||
| Covenant chronology | ||||
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| Singles from United States of Mind | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
Overview
The album's content finds the band united in a much more mainstream state of mind than any of their previous outings. For the most part, Covenant's typically harsh, staticky blasts of audio have been significantly smoothened out, flirting with the simple repetition of dance-pop on tracks with minimal lyrical content, and when present, lyrics often portray much more personal themes — with greater ambiguity — compared to the hostile manifestos of mankind's reality and the science fiction themes that pervade their earlier works. Some of the lyrics appear to be about reaching stardom, and the band even overflows with thanks to their fans on the liner notes. Sampled clips of dialogue, also usual on the early works, have been shed entirely save for the beginning of the gloom-bashing track "Humility". The track "You can make your own music" is a reference to the John Cage track 4'33".
Track listing
All lyrics are written by Joakim Montelius, except where noted; all music is composed by Eskil Simonsson
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Like Tears in Rain" | Simonsson | 5:51 |
| 2. | "No Man's Land" | Simonsson | 5:06 |
| 3. | "Afterhours" | Simonsson | 5:02 |
| 4. | "Helicopter" | 5:44 | |
| 5. | "Tour de Force" | 4:46 | |
| 6. | "Unforgiven" | 4:43 | |
| 7. | "Humility" | 4:35 | |
| 8. | "Dead Stars" (Version) | Simonsson | 4:50 |
| 9. | "One World One Sky" | Simonsson | 5:01 |
| 10. | "Still Life" | 6:49 | |
| 11. | "You Can Make Your Own Music" | 4:33 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Fuzzy Logic" | 7:15 |
| 2. | "Humility V2" | 5:08 |
| 3. | "Alva Myrdal" | 5:18 |
| Total length: | 17:41 | |
Covers
- In 2006 the U.S. Gothic Neo-Medieval/Neofolk band Unto Ashes covered One World One Sky on their album Songs For A Widow.[3]
- Industrial band Goteki covered Tour de Force on their Stolen Thunder One EP.[4]
Personnel
Covenant
- Joakim Montelius – production (3–7, 10), engineering
- Clas Nachmanson
- Eskil Simonsson – vocals, production (1, 2, 8, 9), engineering, mixing
Chart positions
| Chart (2000) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[5] | 83 |
| German Alternative Charts (DAC) Top 50 Albums[6] | 9 |
| CMJ RPM Charts (U.S.)[7] | 4 |
The single for "Der Leiermann" ranked #2 on the DAC Top 100 Singles for 2000.[8]
References
- Anderson, Rick. Covenant: United States of Mind at AllMusic. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
- Comer, M. Tye (28 February 2000). "RPM" (PDF). CMJ New Music Report. Great Neck, NY: College Media, Inc. 61 (655): 27. ISSN 0890-0795. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
- Songs For a Widow 5/10 2008
- "Stolen Thunder One".
- "Officialcharts.de – Covenant – United States of Mind". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
- "DAC Top 50 2000". Trendcharts oHG. AMC Alster Musik Consulting GmbH. 2001. Archived from the original on 11 February 2001. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
- Comer, M. Tye (1 May 2000). "RPM" (PDF). CMJ New Music Report. Great Neck, NY: College Media, Inc. 62 (664): 28. ISSN 0890-0795. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
- "DAC Top 100 Singles 2000". Trendcharts oHG. AMC Alster Musik Consulting GmbH. 2001. Archived from the original on 23 April 2001. Retrieved 20 January 2022.