I’m not quite sure what I expected from a band called The Windupdeads, but it certainly wasn’t the brightly ambient indie rock sound mixing elements of Absolution Muse, Injury Loves Melody Diffuser and the vocals of Sigur Rós with a tinge of Radiohead.
The Swedish four piece is lead by Rickard Olsen (lead vocals, guitar) displays melancholy with his vocals and often times sound as if he actually belongs in the Iceland four piece Sigur Rós. The vocal patterns throughout the album are inconsistent as they switch back and forth from being influenced by Diffuser’s Tomas Costanza (most notably on track 2) and Jón Þór “Jónsi” Birgisson‘s (Sigur Rós, if that weren’t obvious from the many accented vowels).
Also incongruous is the record itself. Many songs sound like Muse ripoffs while others take cues from upbeat and airy pop styles of early Diffuser. Guitarist Petter Ingman creates lush melodies to counter Marcus von Boisman‘s (drums, backing vocals) heavy Muse-like beats and create beautiful, if not stylistically original tunes.
Track 11, “No Actions No Regrets” is by the most likely to be a hit single with its big pop sound, steady beats, and hooky lyrics. Much of the album is airy and melodic with smooth like butter vocals, but at 15 tracks all sounding nearly the same, The Windupdeads get old quick. The one saving grace would have been “You Can Sleep When You’re Dead” near the end of the album, but everything that makes it a breath of fresh air is quickly lost when The Windupdeads revert back to the desperate desire to be a Muse-Sigur Rós hybrid.
Preview “The End”
[audio http://dodge77.com/August%202008/The%20Windupdeads%20-%20The%20End.mp3]
The Windupdeads self-titled debut album will be available through One Eleven Records on October 7th.
Tracklisting:
01. Intro
02. Options
03. A Few Hours Of Light
04. The End (download)
05. On Your Way Out
06. No Denial (Murderer)
07. Sunblock
08. Wide Open Windows
09. Reverse Of Shade
10. Band Tuning
11. No Actions No Regrets
12. I’ll Pay You Back Someday
13. You Can Sleep When You’re Dead
14. The Bottom Of Hell
15. Hell
The Windupdeads: website | myspace | download “The End”
One Eleven Records: website
