Architecture In Helsinki
In Case We Die
(hear it)

This album has the feeling of a bunch of friends who really like each other getting to do whatever they want. The way they approach music is really care-free and joyful. The friends like each other so much, that any idea is encouraged and followed through with a group determination which a typical "rock band" can only dream of. This makes for a rather disjointed, sectionalised piece of listening which is kind of difficult to believe in. It's sort of a collective self-indulgence.

At the show I attended the collective included the audience. It was a big dance party. I don't think anyone would dance to the music on the CD - there's just too many ideas following on each other. I mean, someone would dance for 30 seconds, then stand for a while, then dance. Not that danciness is a criterion of successful music, but I think that when confronted with a large group of actual strangers, the band broadens its sphere of awareness.

It's kind of the opposite of Pink Floyd see "(yesterday)", whose audience ought to be similar, judging by the sonic textures here. It's an inverse of the Fiery Furnaces / Phish identity I was thinking about a couple months ago. There, I supposed the bands had different audiences, but noticed that the music was very similar.

bb, 29 Feb 08