Review: Dying to Say This to You / The Sounds

Available Tuesday, March 21; streaming here

A year before the Killers took over the top 40 with their not so unique brand of Duran Duran-esque new wave, the Sounds released their 1980's-inspired Living in America to surprisingly little fanfare. I discovered the record in the unlikliest of places - a Tower Records listening station (hey, it was 2003). All it took was opener "Seven Days a Week" to hook me in, and I played it over and over again. The group toured extensively (I actually saw them three times), but not even an endorsement from Carson Daly could generate much attention. Thus, three years later, Dying to Say This to You attempts to be that mainstream breakthrough that their debut was not, with help from Jeff Saltzman, the producer behind the Killers' Hot Fuss.

Opener "Song With a Mission," picks up where America left off, a synth-heavy anarchy anthem that boasts, "This song is not for you/only for people living like we do." "Queen of Apology," "24 Hours" and "Painted by Numbers" all feed off the same energy of their debut, and (dismissing the lame sex of "Tony the Beat") the first half isn't bad. What made America so great was the way the group meshed bubblegum new wave with genuine punk rock attitude, all held together by fantastic frontwoman Maja Ivarsson. Saltzman turns down the punk, emphasizing the bubblegum and, unfortunately, watering down the attitude. Boy/girl duet "Hey You" is a promising, but gets bogged down in electronics and ends up feeling a bit forced. At barely a half hour, this album is way too short to be waivering at the end. With Hot Fuss, Saltzman created a successful framework for an edgier - but still mainstream - sound; I just wish he hadn't applied it to an already good band.

2.5 (out of 5)

::as i write this review, I listen to Living in America, which still sounds so, so good. Please give that a listen, before you check this one out.

::1 Related Link::
1:The Sounds' MySpace page (streaming 3 songs)