Heavily influenced by contemporary US pop and rock (and huge in Finland), the Poets of The Fall have released their follow up to 2005's patchy 'Signs Of Life'.
'Carnival Of Rust' sees the band accelerating up a steep learning curve.
Sometimes you wish there was more plot and more content. Nothing is obviously elaborate. Songs spin around simple riffs and rhythms. The vocal melodies seem content staying within a limited range. It's all extremely well arranged and the production is impressively three dimensional, but only a handful of songs escape the gravitational pull of conformity.
Opener '
Fire' is sturdy, steady, and something of a grower. It's a suitable scene setter.
Guitars flicker for a while before creating some heat; rhythms rock steadily before launching into a jackhammer thump, and vocalist/guitarist, Marko's throaty tenor anchors the song to rock solid ground.
'Sorry Go Round's amped up sonics and effortless groove recalls INXS when they were great. Occasionally this song soars, rendering it album standout by a considerable margin.
Two tracks steps outside the equation, The bass heavy yet melodic
'Roses' stretches the formula into an attractive new shape. You could easily imagine this getting heavy rotation on US College radio. The countryish '
Desire' also breaks out of the safe-as-milk mould, building satisfyingly to a big chorus. If only more of the album had shown this level of inventiveness.
Elsewhere, good songs like
'King Of Fools' and '
All The Way' lack the colour and character required to make them special. Too often we're faced with airbrushed, stylised contemporary rock that's scared to put a foot out of place. Consequently,
'Carnival Of Rust' ends up treading well worn paths, that by definition we've all been down before.
Written by
Brian Saturday, March 17, 2007
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