Vowws : " Under the World"

These guys have been on my radar. I think this album is more stream lined than what I heard from them in the past. But I like how the darkness comes through even on these poppier songs. The first two tracks are a little more tightly focused on it than "One of the Other" . The bass line lays back and warbles into the swirl of the mix. This creates an almost shoegaze like sound. "Burn" finds the album settling into a more laid back vibe not far removed from post- "Ultra" Depeche Mode. I prefer when the bass carries more of the weight in building the groove on "Structure of Love" . The male and female vocals sing more in unison. The groove seem to get a little more relaxed as the album progresses and some of the darker feeling is replaced by indifferent shades of gray. They still get some interesting sounds out of this .

Depeche Mode comes to mind in the chorus of "Agents of Harmony". These guys do prove themselves very capable of invoking many different vocal colors between the two of them.Not in a spastic Mike Patton way, but by uses a wide range of dynamic in the very condensed breadth of the vocal range they explore. By the time we get to "Inside Out" it's obvious the pace needed to be picked up. The more passive vocal floats around the more rock inflections of the instrumentation. There is a trashy electro punk aggression to "Forget Your Finery" that makes it one of the album's strongest songs. The vocal interplay is more complex than you are lead to believe at first listen.

I listened to "Charm and Demand" twice for it to sink in. It is another than floats by in a narcotic cloud. The screamed chorus is more explosive than the bulk of the album. It goes back and forth from this soft to loud dynamic. Not really playing good cop/ bad cop with it as the song maintains a similar mood. "Game " finds them returning to a more Depeche Mode like place and is kind of anti-climatic.I'll round this up to a 7.5. I have a feeling some hype will propel this further in some peoples minds it starts off well and the beginning of the third act is pretty good, but the middle kinda walks to much of a middle like that could have been less Depeche Mode and darker. I like Depeche Mode , but I already own those albums. They have some good ideas and strong moment , more consistency is needed.