Album Details

• Artist: Innerpartysystem
• Album: Innerpartysystem
• Label: Island
• Year of Release: 2008
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: dadair on 2008-09-22

A blitzing beat lead and intermissions of eerie reflection, coated by the stern, distanced narrative of Patrick and darkly fuzzy backing vocals give previous single, ‘Die Tonight, Live Forever' adventure, a dark edge and a bit of feisty bounce. There must be something extra in the beer in Mohnton, Pennsylvania where the adventurous Innerpartysystem is based, it comes out in the tumultuous, ‘Heart Of Fire'. That smacks of an aching brain and youthful bemusement. Soaring vocals, picking up from a sturdy, often percussion pulsed base is a prominent feature throughout, as is the inter-song mood flitting that often builds up to a lively, crunching chorus. A wistful atmospheric interlude, by way of ‘Structure' shows a more thoughtful edge to the outfit and Patrick's vocals. Sparse bass pounds help create an air of longing and displays spasms of desperation.

At times, they pitch their vibe between the eccentric energy of Late Of The Pier, the grit and strut of Thirtysecondstomars and the haunted drag of Muse, something that is borne out in the hanging ‘New Poetry'. It gives Innerpartysystem's repertoire emotion, eccentricity and a sincere edge. ‘Last Night In Brooklyn', takes the typical subject matter of many emo songs and filters it through a spacey and eerie synth filter, mixing paranoia and energy. This makes for a haunting and vibrant strike out at a significant other. Their real lyrical meaningfulness comes out in the slow dragging, almost bedraggled ‘What We Will Never Know'. They make a statement which you would think that many modern bands sign away the right to following, when they get a deal;

"I wanna believe in someone, I wanna believe in something."

Innerpartysystem manages to make you feel like boundaries are being pushed at, but beliefs aren't being compromised. Could this be the resurrection of punk and a way of keeping it fresh yet at the same time, retaining the firmness in your convictions? Let's hope so!

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