the Drums : " Abysmal Thoughts"

I have liked this band for sometime. Right from the beginning it sounds like they have taken the direction they went in on the last album and have combined it with the more 50's beach music tinged pop that works best for them. The electronic pulse gets stronger on "I'll Fight For Your Life" . Jonny Pierce does what he does best and doesn't stray from it despite the shifting landscape underneath him. I like how is voice drops down a little on the chorus. "Blood Under My Belt" has a playful melody that reminds me of the Cure's earlier punk days. The vocals are obviously more sugary than what Robert Smith did back in the day. Lyrically this is an album of break up songs so that part really works well for me. Speaking of sugar, diabetics need to be careful when listening to "Heat Basel". It has more skip in it's step than what we have previously heard on this album. I do like the fact Pierce goes into his head register a little more on this album.

While the chorus about him putting a blanket over his face stuck with me, I had to play "Shoot the Sun Down" to absorb the full impact of the song. "Head of the Horse" seems to be about the aches and pains of coming out of the closet. The hooks are very sleepy. I do like how the guitar rings out on this song. I can hear the hooks hiding in "Under the Ice". The guitar is more intangible and while there is a more organic feel to the instrumentation the vocals are very multi-tracked. 'Are You Fucked"  has a lighter heart to it than the lyrics might suggest. The bass line adds to the drone of the song. The electronics threatened to smother "Your Tenderness" . At the  end of the day despite what experimentation they delve back into it's Jonny's melody that makes this interesting. The sax gives things more of an organic glaze.

"Rich Kids"  bounces around enough to merge post-punk meets early R.E.M. The ballad "If All We share" has some really nice guitar work.  There is something much more soulful about the title track that closes the album. For a few seconds he sounds like Bono. IT takes the more post-punk qualities of indie rock and marries it to some with layered pop. The vocal parts feel like they are arranged like something from Paul Simon's "Graceland" album. I will give this album a 9 as it's emotional output is pretty impresses.