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Breathe |
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Breathe
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Breathe |
A new studio album. Not satisfied with simplifying their sound on the last record, the band turned the amps down and threw out the synths - but somehow managed to add even more catharsis and grit. Garrett sings more plainly and calmly than ever, and Moginie usually bangs away on a guitar, leaving hardly any keyboards or electronic studio trickery. On the louder numbers they lean to the blended early 70's Stones-Who/late 70's punk vibe that's been reinvented by "alternative" bands in the last couple of years. But on the quieter ones their sound is unique, vaguely like REM-minus-12-string, but slower, saner, more acoustic, and less dynamic ("Barest Degree") - on "In The Rain" they veer into U2's hazy territory, on "Star Of Hope" they cop Neil Young's fractured shuffle, and on "One Too Many Times" they go with outright country-western. Fans shouldn't miss out by letting their expectations for another over-produced 80's-style Oil record get the better of them. Country-western legend Emmylou Harris duets on the ballad "Home," and there's yet another new producer/ancillary instrumentalist this time in the person of Malcolm Burn.
Rating: ***1/2
Reviewer: John Alroy