I'll quote myself this time:
"I like it even more than "The Butcher's Ballroom". They did all what I wanted them to do: become more aggressive, shorten the number of songs, more male singing, and more experimentation. Also they are more experienced musicians than before. They did it!"

TBB is a great album, really, but sometimes I find it too long, so, this one is well balanced. And c'mon, yes, the album is crazier, but they aren't at the Unexpect crazyness level, which a good thing for this band, they still have their very own sound.

BTW, this guys are very nice, I met them last year and they were really kind to me and my friends.

Lol...what a ridiculous cover art

Written by Ellrohir on 08.02.2010 at 13:25

Lol...what a ridiculous cover art

In the good way or the bad way?

Because I really think that the cover is perfect for the music. I would love to see more original ideas instead of a forest at night.

Dunno...it is either absolutely wonderful or absolutely stupid...i cant decide right now

What the fuck is cover art!!!!

This album is f***ing crazy.

Its so fuckin great!

Written by Daggon on 07.02.2010 at 07:08

BTW, this guys are very nice, I met them last year and they were really kind to me and my friends.

Yes I will vouch for that, nicest musicians I've ever met. I think I am in love with Annlouice...

Probably one of the best albums of 2009 I think.

Hilarious album, the cover say it all.

Cello in this album was awesome.i love that.it's so fucking great

Really diverse and well-performed album filled to the brim with pleasant melodies, exciting grooves and a healthy dose of craziness.

Huge disappointment after the The Butcher's Ballroom. Most of the songs are an unfocused mess, and Annlouice's vocals are really annoying, almost unbearable. I don't know why she changed her singing style, it was much more smooth on the previous album. I don't like the male opera singer either. The only good song is Stratosphere Serenade, because it's mostly instrumental

This group is a new discovery for me. I love what I heard from this album, although the vocals aren't particularly my favorite. Regardless, this is some damn fine music and very refreshing. Just what I needed to hear.

Written by Daggon on 07.02.2010 at 07:08

TBB is a great album, really, but sometimes I find it too long, so, this one is well balanced. And c'mon, yes, the album is crazier, but they aren't at the Unexpect crazyness level, which a good thing for this band, they still have their very own sound.

This isn't "crazy" at all, not even comparable to Unexpect

Not as consistently strong as TBB IMO, but still a great listen.

8.5/10 leaning towards an 8.

It's quite different from The Butcher's Ballroom. The debut had a more elegant and seductive approach in its weirdness which kept you engaged the whole time. This album in turn is more agressive and more exprimental in the vocal department. This leads to more extravangant and circus-like moments which make me wonder if they were getting weird simply for the sake of getting weird. Ít has a more silly vibe to it than the debut. The experimentation on this album makes it less catchy which isn't necessarily a bad thing with avantgarde acts like this one. They were clearly working hard on the songwriting and I think it is cohesive enough. There are just some odd moments here and there with the vocals. Some of Annlouice's high-pitched voices can be a bit too much, same with the really-deep male vocals.
The last track is excellent but I expected a more bombastic finale given how the last track of the debut was simply brilliant and so in-your-face. It's also a bummer that the best track off this album is the first song "A Tapdancer's Dilemma" which is easily top 5 the band has ever written.

All in all I'm gonna go with the low end of the 8 mark. I'm having the feeling that this is a grower.

The outro to stratosphere serenade is pure gold.