If you like The Music you will like this too
Scott L. Mcclure | 06/26/2008
(4 out of 5 stars)
"When I heard the first Music album I was absolutely floored. It's still one of my favorite albums by any new band from the last ten years or so. I thought Welcome to the North was fairly good as well. When it was good, it was amazing - when it was bad it sucked hard (not much in between). Strenght in Numbers, to me, falls somewhere in the middle. It's not quite as rock oriented as the first album but it doesn't have as many clinkers as the second album. It's very "dance" oriented for lack of a better term. Almost every song has a pulsing beat that if you were to see live would keep you moving constantly - on record though it can get a little tedious. The thing I like about the album though is that there isn't a lot of filler and songs I skip over (like on Welcome to the North). Some songs are obviously better than others - The Spike, The Left Side, Fire, No Weapon Sharper Than Will and the "hidden track" No Danger are all incredible. I think Fire is the best song they've done - up there with Take the Long Road. Overall, if you like The Music you will like this - especially if you liked the feel of the second album. However, if you don't already like The Music this won't convert you. If you've never heard them, start with the first album, then get this. It's definitely an overall better album than Welcome to the North, but doesn't quite flow as well or consistently as the first album."
The adrenaline it burns a hole.
Jason Stein | San Diego, CA United States | 08/02/2008
(4 out of 5 stars)
"The Music is back with their third album "Strength In Numbers". This is a significant departure from "Welcome To The North" and "The Music". From the opening title track "Strength In Numbers", the band has virtually pushed the guitars that dominated their first and second albums to the back and brought forth the synthesizers and drum loops, making for a more electronic feel to the music.
This is no surprise given that the band has used producer Flood (New Order, Soft Cell, Nick Cave, Erasure, Nine Inch Nails, Depeche Mode, U2, Smashing Pumpkins, a-ha, The Killers, PJ Harvey and Goldfrapp).
The question is, does it work? Yes and no. For songs like "Strength In Numbers", "Drugs", "Idle", "Fire", "Vision" and "Inconceivable Odds" it works very well. The hidden, instrumental track, "No Danger" is also good. The rest is adequate filler.
"Stength In Numbers" is not exactly what I expected from this band. I was hoping for more. Still, it's above average, and I look forward to their next cd.
For The Music fans, I'd recommend buying it, but I still feel that "Welcome To The North" is the band's best work thus far."
Track Listings (12) - Disc #1
