One Track Mind

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

[ download ]

Since their inception, The Sounds have possessed a stylistic sheen that eludes most acts. The sound of The Sounds has always been high in confidence, whether it was in the backwards glance of their ’80s inspired debut, Living in America, or in the slinky sexuality of their hipster nightlife follow-up, Dying to Say This to You.

If “Dorchester Hotel,” the lead single from their upcoming Crossing the Rubicon is any indication, that self-confidence has completed its arc; the sonic profile at play is one that is along the lines of the best music you’re likely to hear on the radio. It is more commercial, the sleazy musical innuendo of their last record having been sandblasted into an MTV-ready gloss. Whether that is a good or bad thing is a matter of perspective, of course. I prefer The Sounds’ music a little less expertly hewn than “Dorchester Hotel,” but if it means that it gets them played on rock radio over The Fray, I can certainly get behind that.

Just about the only element that hasn’t been entirely rewritten since their 2003 debut is the drums, which remain sinewy and heavy in the mix. The Sounds give us some elegant guitar parts on “Dorchester Hotel,” as well as some amped up (albeit somewhat clinically so) bits. Perhaps most surprisingly, the synthesizers that helped define their previous releases are relegated to a minuscule role, shading in various empty spaces and giving a final gasp at the song’s conclusion. In their stead, we get a pretty breakdown mid-song featuring a string section and guitar.

Of course, the main draw here remains–as it should be–the energetic Maja Ivarsson and her ever-so-slightly accented vocals. She’s the Debbie Harry of this outfit, and her contribution is as trenchant and lusty as ever. The end result isn’t on par with “Seven Days A Week” or “Tony the Beat,” but it is a more mature statement from an already established band.