Whenever I purchase an album I expect reasonable results. I at least want the album to contain a few solid tracks so I don"t feel like I completely wastef my money on something with no redeeming qualities. Right now I"m trying to think of an album that just plain out doesn"t cut it, I mean every single second of the album is just a dreadful piece of dog poop. No albums really pop out in my mind, there are positive aspects on every single cd released, weather you are willing to admit it or not. Now don"t get me wrong there are some miserable albums out there, but I can"t imagine listening to an album that is utterly and completely dreadful for every single second.
That being said Architecture in Helsinki"s "In Case we Die" comes extremely close to breaking this rule.
There are eight members featured on the album, and being a pop album you know things are going to be different. Almost every single instrument you can think of finds a way to fit into the music, including flutes, french horns, tubas, clarinets, xylophones, chimes, guitars, keyboards, drums, and a bass. In result you get a quirky, upbeat, and poppy album that is flooding with different sounds, noises, and instruments. The instruments refrain from clashing together, Architecture in Helsinki keep things simple for the most part, but sometimes things get a bit out of hand. The problem is that the sound of the album can get a little to crowded at points, it almost sounds like the band is trying to make things to quirky and upbeat. After listening to the album for quite some time no instruments really stand out. I can"t say that this is a bad thing considering that this is a pop album, yet I find some instruments un-needed. While its nice to have extra xylophones and clarinets in the music to juice things up sometimes they just don"t work and wind up overloading the album with unneeded noise.
The boatload of instruments do their job, and are not what make the album so tedious and unlistenable. That prize goes to male vocalists Cameron Bird and female vocalist Kellie Sutherland. I"ll give the two some credit for having nice voices, but that"s about it. The two sing like they are catering to a five year old boy who has just fallen off his bike, no joke. Their high pitched singing and joyful tone sounds cute at first, but things wear thin quickly. Both Kellie and Cameron could both qualify for a spot on Sesame Street. They both have love-able voices that will appeal to kids about six and under. The vocals mix in well with the playful arrangement of instruments, put in the end the two just end up sounding tedious and annoying.
I"m not a huge pop fanatic but I know that there is one thing that pop music needs to have, and that is accessibility. The problem is that "In Case We Die" is not accessible, and can not be listened to whenever you please. There is a reason why the album is so hard to listen to, and that would be the whole upbeat and overwhelmingly joyful part. I suppose the music is fun and quirky but Architecture in Helsinki overdo things. The gleeful, kiddy vocals and the added xylophones and trumpets are all nice and pretty at first, but by the end of the album you will want to kick a kitten in the face. I simply can"t see anyone listening to this album on a regular basis because of its overwhelmingly joyful, and upbeat nature.
I"m going to go back and make a reference to my opening statement. Every album contains some sort of highlight regardless of how awful it is or what you might think of it. I"ll try to be as open as possible and sort through some of the better tracks on the album. "Do the Whirlwind" is one of the catchiest, and most dance-able songs off the album. Powered by a simple keyboard riff and backing electronic noises the song is extremely accessible. Kellie"s vocals are smooth, they are quite soft and blend in well with the bouncy keyboard effects. Brass instruments come into play, and later on in the song Egyptian sounds manage to make their way into the music Everything is sort of soft here, and things flow together quite nicely to create a dance pop gem. The albums opener "Nevereverdid" goes through many instrument changes and arrangements, the song clocks in at almost five minutes long. The opener is a soft ballad time song, and contains many catchy hooks. Keyboards, chimes, hand claps, and vocals all appear along with some jazzy trumpet playing. Both of these tracks are superb, just because things refrain from getting overly upbeat, or in other words just damn annoying.
There are a few more tracks that I find bearable, and usually give them a listen if I want to give the album yet another chance."Tiny Paintings" is probably as simple as things get. The song is built off of a simple guitar line and the main focus is on the vocals. The track sounds like something that would be featured on Beauty and the Beast. Camerons vocals sound sort of romantic and the song is the most accessible and easy to listen to off the album. "Wishbone" is another fairly tale inspired tune. Featuring kiddy backing vocals along with violas and sparkly keyboard effects. Kellie"s heartwarming vocals are possibly the highlight and sound excellent accompanied with the simple viola and keyboard lines.
Aside of these four tracks I don"t see any more positives about the album. "Rendevous: Potrero Hill" is a two minute instrumental consisting of only a piano and some special effects. The track isn"t very inspired and feels like a filler with the dinky piano playing along with worn down effects. "In Case we Die Parts 1-4' is the supposedly an epic four part track featuring a little bit of everything. The track starts off with some zany electronic effects accompanied by Camerons ever so playful and obnoxious vocals. The song eventually fades into a nice drum roll and than winds down again to just a vocal performance from both Cameron and Kellie. I can only detect three parts to the song and things are actually kind of dull. "The Cemetery" is a riff based pop tune. It features a nice, quick paced guitar riff and some more cuddly vocals. The problem is that trumpets sort of crowd the sound and things turn into sort of a mess instead of a simple pop tune.
When I purchased Architecture in Helsinki"s "In Case We Die" I wouldn"t say that I had very high hopes. I was expecting some solid indie-pop music with some nice grooves and simple rhythms. Instead I got something that sounds like a Sesame Street sing-a-long album. Sure, the album is catchy but things get to upbeat and overly annoying. If want some quirky, upbeat, and unbelievably joyful music than this will be your heaven. If you are expecting some regular indie-pop music and pick this up, than this might just be your hell.
