Tim Brough's Black Leather Bookshelf

Preaching to the Choir
4 Out Of 5 Stars

Striking yet another retro pose for all things 80's synth, we have Chvrches and "The Bones Of What You Believe." Lead singer Lauren Mayberry and crew may be apeing the mopey sounds for all they can, but they do a really good job of it. They couch it all in shiny happy laptop rock, but they also have a taste for the distorted ("You Caught The Light," oddly a song that Mayberry doesn't sing) and it is easy to see why Depeche Mode chose them as tour openers overseas.

The Scottish threesome understand that a good downer goes down even better when it has this kind of sheen. On the anthem-ish "The Mother We Share," especially in the chorus:

"I'm in misery where you can seem as old as your omens
And the mother we share will never keep your proud head from falling
The way is long but you can make it easy on me
And the mother we share will never keep our cold hearts from calling."

Yup, nothing like a depressive episode that has a good beat so you can dance to it. "I'll be a thorn in your side," Mayberry sweetly sings on "Lungs." Her voice (which at times reminded me of Kate Bush) is so silky that you'll sometimes miss the bite of Chvrches lyrics. It's that combination of the frosty with the sugary that makes "The Bones of What You Believe" one of the better debuts of 2013.

Only gripe? Much like Imagine Dragons' debut, the frequent push into loudness war territory mars some of the better songs. I'm really beginning to think decently producing albums has become a lost art.

Did it really need to be saved in the first place?
3 Out Of 5 Stars

Fall Out Boy proclaim their mission. That mission? "Save Rock and Roll." This after a long stagnant period where the band had allegedly broken up, lead singer Patrick Stump had his solo album, and Fall Out Boy seemed dead and buried. Not so, as they claim in the first song. "I'll fix you like a remix then raise you like a Phoenix," Stump yelps over the usual bombast and distorted pop that enjoys a current vogue.

Which is what frustrates me about "Save Rock and Roll." FOB's albums were pastiches of rock and pop elements that rang clear as a bell and had seemingly endless energy. Main songwriter Pete Wentz seemed to groove on Michael Jackson and The Rolling Stones in equal measure, especially on their best album, "Infinity On High." Despite the album's title, rock and roll is surprisingly absent from the music overall. It's more pop and elements of hip-hop, closer to Stump's solo "Soul Punk" than a FOB album. They also succumb to the loudness wars; "Save Rock and Roll" is compressed within an inch of its life. The mix is so bricked up that it's enough to fatigue your ears.

There are highlights, like "Phoenix," the lead single "My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark" and the title track, which features a fine appearance by Elton John. FOB also lured Courtney Love to scream a few times on "Rat A Tat," Foxes (whoever she is) on "Just One Yesterday" and rapper Big Sean for the OK "The Mighty Fall." Guest appearances are fine to broaden an album's palette, and frankly Elton's appearance makes "Save Rock and Roll" a better song than it probably would be without him. That doesn't rescue "Save Rock and Roll" from its homogeneity or the blatant fact that the band has done much better. For all the heroic bravura in its title, "Save Rock and Roll" is merely average.



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