Sindre Bjerga and Jan-M Iversen reaffirm the 'speak softly, carry a big stick' ethos on this slurry but dense release. This could easily be mistaken as drone, but it isn't?at least in the strictest sense of the word. Close listening lifts the veil on a very busy recording, all but understated, relatively quiet and perhaps laconically situated in some sensory deprivation chamber. That's all well and good. Considering the Norwegian bent for the political, I'd like to address the title and the subtext of this recording. Maybe it's a mirror held up to the world; a considerate one. Not only in the sense that this is a thoroughly meditative release, but also that it suggests a subtextual commentary on our world. The mood is overcast, has a 'veil of tears' feel to it, but is almost elegiacal declarative on, well, the state of things. Remarkably effective, ?The World of Pretend Is A Cage, Not A Cocoon? seems to lie in the shadows, seems muted and even weary, but is anything but. 8/10 -- P. Somniferum (8 April, 2008)