The Sounds - Crossing The Rubicon reviews
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| Allmusic |
 On their third album, Crossing the Rubicon, the Sounds haven't deviated much from the formula of their first two records. Why should they when it works as well as it does? The lively guitar punch, the '80s synthesizers, singer Maja Ivarsson's insistent and distinctive vocals, and above all the hooky but substantial songwriting all added up to something pretty impressive on 2006's Dying to Say This to You. It would have been a mistake to merely copy the template and insert new songs, though, and the band does add some new twists to both the sound and scope of the record. Unlike on the first two albums, which sounded like an exciting new wave-inspired band ripping through their songbook, there is seemingly more thought and planning behind this album. The band worked with a variety of producers and spent more time crafting precise arrangements and trying to make each song a separate entity. They add a level of studio craft and attention to detail to their sound that could bug some of their fans who might have preferred a more immediate sounding album, it's true. The high ratio of songs with huge hooks and the basic structural similarity to past works should keep most of them on board, though. It's no crime to expand and grow your sound as long as you do it right, and the Sounds have done that here. The best songs, like the super slick and stadium-sized "No One Sleeps When I'm Awake" (produced by James Iha and Adam Schlesinger), the emotionally devastating "Dorchester Hotel," the nostalgic rocker "Underground," or the epic Springsteen-esque "The Only Ones," have a depth and power the band just couldn't deliver before. Only a couple of songs fail to measure up to the high standards established elsewhere but they don't ruin the listening experience, though the very Nordic pseudo-rapping and generally embarrassing thematic nature of "Beatbox" come very close. Crossing the Rubicon is the sound of a band reaching their potential as artists and it's very satisfying to see and, more importantly, to hear....full text |
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| Urb |
| When so many artists insist on trudging up out of their roots to search for bigger and better things, the Sounds stay nestled comfortably in their own soil. But this isn’t to say that they aren’t growing in their own way. Their bright and bold electro-pop is as strong as ever. It’s their lyrical concepts that have expanded and gained depth… for anyone paying attention to such things. The bottom line is that this band of Swedes consistently makes crowd-pleasing music -- almost designed to be heard and performed live. They’ve toured in over 25 different countries, garnering praise for their remarkably intense live shows and building their fan base the old-fashioned way. Crossing the Rubicon is exactly what you would expect from The Sounds – more upbeat electric guitar solos, 80s-inspired synths, wailing punk vocals and super catchy sing-along hooks. Few of the tracks deviate from this format, which the album’s press release describes as the “big, fist pumping, arena-sized anthem.” Yet and still, if you care at all to dig beneath the glossy surface, you will find that the band’s content is far from one-dimensional. Lead singer Maja Ivarsson delivers poignant and surprisingly honest lyrics. On “Midnight Sun” she reflects on the conflicting emotions of youthful yearning for independence coupled with the struggle to leave the comfort of the past behind: “Still so young and anxious to be free/ but now I’m trapped inside all these memories/ there’s more than this if you open up your eyes/ and then soon you’ll realize those days are all gone.” Dance-happy tracks are certainly not scarce. “Beatbox,” for example, kicks off with Latin percussion and an epic power riff before thumping into an old-school themed party jam. Tracks like “Dorchester Hotel” and “Underground” are also sure to be crowd pleasers. However it’s an expected treat towards the album’s close that shows just how diverse and strong of a songwriter Ivarsson can be. “The Only Ones” is a piano-backed power ballad that would make Freddy Mercury proud – displaying Ivarsson’s lyrical storytelling ability and providing a nice counterpoint to the largely upbeat preceding tracks. This is a well-rounded album that is as artistically rich as it is sonically pleasing. The Sounds are going to be around for awhile....full text |
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| Rollingstone |
| On the third album from these Swedish New Wavers, singer Maja Ivarsson channels the spirit of dozens of spunky Eighties frontwomen, as well as her own earnestness, shouting peppy proclamations about cranking up the music and getting nostalgic about both her hometown and "the underground" — presumably the one her band broke out of. Lyrics such as "that's how you learn who you really are" skew generic, and the band's driving grooves and keyboard dramatics follow suit. A few choruses stick, and "No One Sleeps When I'm Awake" sounds like a solid Heart cover. But the rest? What's Swedish for "meh"?...full text |
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