ALBUM REVIEWS
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ALBUM REVIEWS |
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AFI
CRASH LOVE DGC/INTERSCOPE 28.9.09 @www.vanguard-online.co.uk
What AFI deliver on this, their eighth studio album, is a tasty slice of American soft rock pie, served with a side order of ‘perhaps a little comfortable in their genre’. After so many releases and the mega success that they’ve enjoyed (their previous two albums have gone platinum, their last entering the US chart at number one), it feels as though the band are comfortable with their style and hesitant to change it. And who can blame them? But the feeling across “Crash Love” is that they’ve taken their foot off the pedal in some places, for it’s an album of peaks and troughs: while some tracks really stand out and demand attention (more about them shortly), others seem to hide in the corner, turning up like the last box of mince pies left in the back of the cupboard. This isn’t to say the tracks are bad, but I would seriously consider skipping past some of them to get to the more juicy offerings. So what of the great tracks? Well, they all seem to embrace the 80s rock genre more than their counterparts, with heavy attention being paid to lead guitars and strong beats. “Beautiful Thieves” sounds like an American rock classic already – I could almost see the Guitar Hero tracks to accompany it, such is its classic construction. “End Transmission”, my personal highlight, follows the same path as The Departure did a few years ago, by bringing haunting vocals into play with powerful guitars, while “Cool Hands” is far from its title – the opening riff is worth repeating on its own! There are also nods in the direction of Def Leppard and the metal end of the spectrum, on tracks like “Too Shy To Scream”, “I’m Trying Very Hard To Be Here” and the album’s first single, “Medicate”, which typifies the sound of the entire album. What we have here is fast-paced soft rock, even if it has to slow down now and then to avoid falling off the tracks. www.afireinside.net |
