by François CoutureReleased in 1996, Silent Night is a double-CD set. Each disc contains a single one-hour piece, Black and White. With this album the group firmly established what would remain their highly distinctive sound for years. Black begins with samples from what sounds like old movies. Similar snippets will reappear throughout the piece, providing a strange cinema for the ear experience for a music that remains pretty static. Things begin with a slow-paced bass riff. Tony Buck keeps the drums very quiet. A short piano motif in the low register and ethereal organ chords help build an atmosphere akin to film noir. The samples greatly contribute to the mood, but they can also be distractive. As suggested by its title, White is less dark. The samples are limited to light sounds and electronics, mostly in the middle of the piece and confined to the background. The piece begins on a quirky 12\u002F8 ostinato that eventually evolves into a conventional 6\u002F8 riff. Chris Abrahams plays mostly the piano, but adds occasional drops of organ, scattered staccato notes one could mistake for something more electronic. A small but gradual buildup in the last third leads to a quick finale that leaves only a bass drum pulsating in the distance. Very well done, but not as spellbinding as the group's later works.