The Sounds' "Something To Die For," Is Not

Few bands can do 80′s New Wave within the last decade better than The Sounds. It’s just one of those things that is kind of known within the music industry. The Swedish band’s brand of uber-catchy rock/pop, headed by vocalist Maja Ivarsson, have made the band incredibly popular and commercially viable since 1999 when they formed in Helsingborg. Celebrities and musicians alike laud the band’s fun, well-crafted tunes. Since 2002, the band has released three records, and today they look to reintroduce themselves to a now dance-heavy and crowded musical landscape with Something To Die For.

After releasing two singles in the month of February; “Better Off Dead” and “Something To Die For,” it was clear that The Sounds were remaining true to what they knew best, and I was curious to see how that would translate, post-2005. There aren’t many ways to reinvent the ‘musical wheel’ in the rock-dance-pop genre, but The Sounds simply slowed it down. While Living In America may have introduced you to a faster, more uptempo band where lyrics were forgettable but hooks were memorable, Something To Die For tries to surround Ivarsson’s croon with an awkward distribution of vocals and instrumentation.

The new album’s tracklisting is:

“It’s So Easy”
“Dance With The Devil”
“The No No Song”
“Better Off Dead”
“Diana”
“Something To Die For”
“Yeah Yeah Yeah”
“Won’t Let Them Tear Us Apart”
“The Best Of Me”
“Wish You Were Here”

The real blow to this record is the lack of any real musical identity or killer hook. I hummed “Painted By Numbers” for a LONG time, and there’s just nothing like that on this album. The songs are lifeless, and with no momentum propelling me forward, it felt like I was listening to a collection of new songs that could have been on future albums by The Sounds. There are strong songs like “Diana,” and “The No No Song,” which are interesting enough to act as a foundation, but “The Best Of Me” and “Won’t Let Them Tear Us Apart” are just empty.

There are plenty of drum beats, synth and guitar effects, like on the gem of the record, “Better Off Dead,” which will instantly just hook you, but it quickly became the most interesting part of the record for me. Everything else paled in comparison to that song, as the pacing to make it a true ‘Sounds’ record just isn’t there.

Fans who enjoyed their self-funded third record Crossing The Rubicon may have seen this coming, as they began to craft mid-tempo songs like the single “No One Sleeps When I’m Awake,” then and were receptive. I recognize that diehard fans have already purchased this record, but if you’re looking to discover The Sounds, I’d suggest looking deeper into their catalog.

Unfortunately, there is now a sea of danceable “indie rock” and “indie pop” bands with female vocalists that are available to us now, when such a thing was a hot commodity in 2002. Either way, The Sounds need to spice things up if they want to keep my attention.