Crossing the Rubicon

There are albums that will take the listener to a place in their mind. If the artists did their job right the album will take the listener to a different place, helping them escape reality for a few moments. Some albums will make you feel like you're in a field or at sea, while others make you feel like you just walked into a pub, I'm looking at you Flogging Molly. Then there are albums that put you into the heart of a busy city, with all its noises and emotions. The Sounds album, Crossing the Rubicon, does just that, placing you in a metropolis of music and sound.

This Swedish alternative rock outfit comes at you with music that will make you think of Blondie and The Cars. The band formed back in 1998 and has three albums out of which Crossing the Rubicon is the latest.

The Sounds stepped out on their own for this album, leaving their producers behind to do it themselves. This step is risky and most band fumble and drop the ball when making the change, this is not the case with The Sounds. The album comes across as a well polished work, lacking little and offering a lot.

First up is "No One Sleeps While I'm Awake." Remember how I talked about this album taking you to a city, this track is the late night anthem of New York. The bass line is the traffic, the drums are the metro, the guitar and keyboards are the noise filtering out of the clubs, and the vocals are the lights left on at two in the morning, bright and clear. This song keeps pushing forward to the bridge where it lifts you in to a melodic guitar solo. The outro to the final chorus gives the song the final push to get it stuck in your head.

"Dorchester Hotel" is the second track to look at. The one thing that will stick out to you instantly is the end of the verses with the bare vocals calling out like voices in the night. This song is an ever moving machine, constantly moving and building till the end of each verse where there is a slight break and the listener is left with only the voices. The constant guitar rift in the back gives this song a haunting feel through out.

The third song up is "Underground." An anthem to the youth of the city, this song urges forward motion. Much more open than the last two mentioned, the song leaves room for the vocals to shine and they do once you get to the chorus. The entire sound lies open and does not try to fill itself with useless noise, which serves it amazingly well.

Finally there is "The Only Ones." Opening with a simple piano melody, the song feels almost like a tribute. The vocals and the piano are the only voices speaking for the first verse, as the chorus starts in the other voices add. The entire song is a slow process of growth, with each phrase adding more energy. The entire process climaxes around the end of the second chorus, with the bridge taking all the elements out except the piano and vocals again.

Crossing the Rubicon is and excellent album. From front to back it contains energy and more importantly purpose. Though it might seem a bit popish at times, all in all it makes for a great listen. It has been a while since this album came out so here is hoping the next album The Sounds puts out is even better.

Always Listening,

Nick