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In true Architecture in Helsinki style, Places Like This is lengthy, yet succinct in nature.
It sounds like a puzzling combination, but as always the Australian band wraps its rambling lyrics inside a catchy - and delicious - candy shell, with no songs exceeding four minutes. The album itself scathes by at a measly 32-odd minutes.
And while there are not quite as many danceable purely-pop tunes on this album - see "It'5!" or "Frenchy I'm Faking" from 2005's In Case We Die - there is a more varied range of influences, which may draw in a whole new crowd of listeners to the band.
"Heart It Races," Places Like This' first single, starts off with a hearty reggae drum beat and some chanting thrown in for good measure. As the song builds, the band adds steel drums to the mix, which act as undertones for the repetitive but catchy lyrics. Any self-respecting reggae fan couldn't listen to this joint without at least bopping their braids just a little.
Album opener "Red Turned White" features an Isaac Brock-esque vocal delivery, contrasting AIH's usually high-pitched sound. The vocals only manage to peak halfway into the song when a chorus of each of the five members and some out-there instrumentation joins in.
"Hold Music" is one of songs that keep fingers far away from the skip button, with some fast guitar setting the scene for some shouted lyrics reminiscent of electronic girl rockers Le Tigre. However, the wind instruments that join in later put AIH's signature stamp on the song.
"Debbie" with its new school inspirations on top of a more familiar AIH feel epitomizes the sound of Places Like This. The synthesized funk and disco inspirations at the beginning of this song sound as if John Travolta could dance to it, but also has some of the band's distinct flavor with dual male and female vocals and fast, sometimes incomprehensible lyrics.
Two years after In Case We Die, not to mention two band members short, Architecture in Helsinki has greatly improved its sound with Places Like This. The band has tapped into influences that have only enhanced its signature pop-driven talent - a refreshing alternative to the recent flood of sub-par punk-rock exports.
Although nothing on Places Like This is as dance-party friendly as songs on previous albums, there are many more radio-friendly songs, capable of holding a listeners interest for way longer than the bordering-on-bubble-gum pop sound of In Case We Die.
Armed with a more evolved sound and a better album than any that have come before it, Architecture in Helsinki might now have a real chance of making a splash in America's more diverse popular music pool.
Contact reporter Courtney Pomeroy at diversions@dbk.umd.edu.
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