Published June 5, 2009
Although they have retreated slightly into the inferior
pop shallowness of debut Breathe, We Are Shadows at times beautifully
retains and expands upon the richness, depth and assertiveness of
sophomore effort The Angela Test, especially on tracks like The Harbor
and Planets. The rhythm section perfectly retains its ability to ground
the heady surrealism of the songwriting, somehow bracing and soothing
at the same time. As always with Leaves, however, things start getting
a bit iffy on the upbeat numbers, and the wisdom of abandoning the
inquisitive, desperate yearning of The Angela Test for the contented
dreaminess of We Are Shadows is questionable. I mean, if that’s what
they want to do, fine, but the thing about writing effeminate alt-rock
pop croons is that if you aren’t Jeff Buckley, it’ll just sound gay. -SINDRI ELDON
This Icelandic quartet got quite some international
recognition in 2002 for their first album, Breathe. The début was
characterised by the sort of music from indie rock bands like Doves.
This is where We Are Shadows continues what Breathe began. While
sounding most of the time like Coldplay, the band still manages not to
become a facsimile of them, rather adding an experimental and
atmospheric note to their sound that brings Radiohead to mind. The
instrumental Motion or the sometimes quite extravagant vocals
contribute to this. After all, despite it not being very outstanding compared to the big
shots of their genre, it is solid work and will definitely find an
audience. -FLORIAN ZÜHLKE
- MySpace: leavesmusicspace
- Sindri’s Take: Not dark enough.
- Florian’s Take: Indie rock for the masses.
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