Tuesday's Recommended Release

When I first heard Architecture In Helsinki's second studio album, In Case We Die, it must have been months after it was first released. It was my first exposure to the Australian twee group and I was in love mere minutes into listening as the second track, "It's 5!" blared into my brain and stuck there for the next few weeks. Since my first listen I have returned again and again to the album, each time a new song becomes lodged in my head for a few days and I'll walk the streets of New York humming a chorus or two to myself all day long.

Listening to their follow-up, Places Like This, is like deja vu as I have had the same feeling since the first time I heard the lead single off the album, "Heart it Races". Using a sing-a-long rhythm section and their signature cutesy harmonies, the song is such an immediate addiction it may wind up being hazardous to your health. Though the lyrics seem to be completely devoid of reason I can sing each one of them, and do quite often when I find myself listening to it in the car or in my room. The rest of the album proves to be the same way, as the album is littered with syrupy sing-a-long choruses, and enough synths and rhythms to get even the most cynical indie kids moving a bit.

Places Like This opens with the sounds of a video game like explosion and its such an apropos opening as the rest of the album explodes with some of the finest twee music these ears have ever heard. A lot of the music found on the album is reminiscent of In Case We Die, but it seems the band has attempted to fit more into each song. Extra synth sounds, more singers, loads more harmonies, and even more infectious lyrics make this a fair sized step up from the previous album, which hopefully will push Architecture in Helsinki to the next level in the music world.

Being fun from the beginning to end, is just the first of many reasons to run out and buy this album today, but it is the most important reason. In a world where music is coming at you from every conceivable angle, it is important to remember that this art is meant to entertain and that is exactly what Architecture in Helsinki manage to accomplish with Places Like This!
Architecture in Helsinki - "Heart It Races"
Architecture in Helsinki - "Like It or Not"
buy it at insound!


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