THE MURDER OF MY SWEET - review added 28th May 2012
Album Review: Bye Bye Lullaby (2012)
For fans of: Symphonic Rock
Swedish band The Murder Of My Sweet released their debut album "Divanity" at the start of 2010. To my ears it was okay-to-good, and featured the utterly superb individual moment 'Kiss of Death' which I'm playing regularly even now.
"Bye Bye Lullaby" continues the sound set by the debut, meaning symphonic rock overlaid by dance-influenced beats and synth-effects, occasional metal guitars riffs, and Angelica Rylin's sweetly-toned vocals. The effect is dramatic, stirring, modern and fresh. The musicianship is great, though the keyboards sometimes get too dominant in the mix. Those vocals on the other hand are more or less flawless. A little more character wouldn't go amiss, but criticising near-perfection seems unfair.
The main drawback for me is the lack of catchy hooks in the songs. The tracks as a whole sound classy and very well put together, but many of them lack a monster chorus or anything else really memorable. It all works perfectly well as it is...but you just know, taking into account the quality of performers on this record, that with amazingly written songs throughout they'd make waves across the world.
It's not all bad news though. 'Unbreakable' is very commercial and a real grower, the slow 'Meant To Last Forever' is a nice ballad with a heavy dark undertone, and 'Black September' mixes Europop with death metal in way that works a lot better than it has any right to.
In Summation:
I'd put this on a par with the last record. If you liked that I'm sure you'll find plenty of like here. I just think these guys are capable of something better than this. And, yes, that is meant as a huge compliment.
Entertainment/Enjoyment:
Musicianship:
Vocals:
Song Writing:
Production:
Overall (Not An Average Of The Above):
Track List:
01. Armageddon
02. Fallen
03. Unbreakable
04. I Dare You
05. Violently Peaceful
06. Meant To Last Forever
07. Idolize
08. Kind Of Lousy
09. The One
10. Resurrection
11. Waiting For The 27th (Booh Prologue)
12. Black September
13. Phantom Pain
Band/Performers:
Angelica Rylin (Vocals)
Christopher Vetter (Guitars)
Teddy Westlund (Bass)
Daniel Flores (Drums)
Other Info:
Label: AFM Records
Artist's website(s): The Murder Of My Sweet | MySpace | Facebook
