Containing nine tracks, it is a confident and quite unpredictable venture. Opener "Superman", the longest song on the album, is a perfect mixture of melody and emotion. The lead guitar twines with the rhythm section, where the beautifully thick bass is not overwhelming, creating an almost cinematic landscape. "Say Hi" which follows, however, is the polar opposite. The more upbeat, stripped down character of the song sports a very summery vibe, which cleverly disguises a stark juxtaposition between the music and the lyrical theme; the bitter singing addressed to a person the singer used to care about, backed with subtle harmonics, is enveloped in a smooth groove that doesn't go unnoticed. "Eyes Wide Open" is more electric, closer to the spirit of the first song, although edgier. I really like how nicely it flows and I can easily picture the band playing it live, receiving loud reactions from the crowd. The following track, "Take Control", balances between the beat of a dance song and the musicality of an alt rock ballad. I don't know what it is that didn't make the song fully grow on me like the previous ones did, but can't say I'm turned off in any way.
We are halfway through the album when the single "Problems" starts playing. Poppier and with lovely percussion, it gives an almost adorable notion to a phrase we all hate, "it's not you/it's me/I think I've got problems". And then, the instrumentation makes a sudden appearance, not exactly an outburst though, lasting for some seconds, before the song gradually returns to the previous patterns and ends with a full circle. My obsessive self is very pleased when this happens so kuddos to these guys. On the next song, "Favourite Mistake", we start with some chords accompanying a heartbreaking vocal performance, where Lee-Ann Curren's ethereal lines fully complement the words sung by Rorry Williams. Is anything predictable with this album? Hardly. It's almost at the middle of the song that it develops a vivid character, including a narration in French. "Heroes" is an indie hit where the predominant keys create an almost dreamy atmosphere -and definitely one of my personal favorites in the album. Similarly, "One Of A Kind" is dynamicaly romantic in every way it manifests; from the ambience to the subtle details in the orchestration to the warmth of the vocal timbre. My cynical self is in denial of how much I actually like it. Finally, the album closes with "Alien", the most unconventional composition we have encountered so far. More on the rock side, it displays an almost different facet of the band -not this is a bad thing. On the contrary, it's nice to see that the band experimented further with how they wante dthe album to sound like and chose to make it go out with a bang.
Overall, "Blood Rush Déjà Vu" was one of the albums that I started listening without being familiar with the band and without knowing what to expect. It ended up exceeding any bias and expectations I had since it's really far from the noise I usually write about. It's fresh and well-thought, without any rough edges and a stellar production. It flows seamlessly and the alteration between themes very nimbly adds a beautiful diversity. It's a great album and you should deffinitely check it out.
8.5/10
We are halfway through the album when the single "Problems" starts playing. Poppier and with lovely percussion, it gives an almost adorable notion to a phrase we all hate, "it's not you/it's me/I think I've got problems". And then, the instrumentation makes a sudden appearance, not exactly an outburst though, lasting for some seconds, before the song gradually returns to the previous patterns and ends with a full circle. My obsessive self is very pleased when this happens so kuddos to these guys. On the next song, "Favourite Mistake", we start with some chords accompanying a heartbreaking vocal performance, where Lee-Ann Curren's ethereal lines fully complement the words sung by Rorry Williams. Is anything predictable with this album? Hardly. It's almost at the middle of the song that it develops a vivid character, including a narration in French. "Heroes" is an indie hit where the predominant keys create an almost dreamy atmosphere -and definitely one of my personal favorites in the album. Similarly, "One Of A Kind" is dynamicaly romantic in every way it manifests; from the ambience to the subtle details in the orchestration to the warmth of the vocal timbre. My cynical self is in denial of how much I actually like it. Finally, the album closes with "Alien", the most unconventional composition we have encountered so far. More on the rock side, it displays an almost different facet of the band -not this is a bad thing. On the contrary, it's nice to see that the band experimented further with how they wante dthe album to sound like and chose to make it go out with a bang.
Overall, "Blood Rush Déjà Vu" was one of the albums that I started listening without being familiar with the band and without knowing what to expect. It ended up exceeding any bias and expectations I had since it's really far from the noise I usually write about. It's fresh and well-thought, without any rough edges and a stellar production. It flows seamlessly and the alteration between themes very nimbly adds a beautiful diversity. It's a great album and you should deffinitely check it out.
8.5/10
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