Review: Adventures In The Underground Journey To The Stars / South

On 2003's With the Tides, London-based trio South conjured up the dark, atmospheric rhythms of Echo and the Bunnymen, creating the perfect moody soundtrack for a rainy day. For the follow-up, Adventures In The Underground Journey To The Stars, it appears that they've been spending some time in the sunshine. Get past the awful cover art and find a record that is at points bright, dreamy, funky, sexy, and rather soothing, powered by a collection of drum loops, spacey strings and piano, driving acoustic and electric guitar rhythms, soothed over with lush harmonies and calls for positive affirmations like, "there must be more to life than this," and "don't beat yourself up." Though different genres are hopped to - sometimes mid-song - and their website describes them as "chameleons," it all feels completely natural, and free of gimmick.

To be more precise, they describe themselves as the "chameleons of pop," a rather fitting title - and Adventures... ranks as quite possibly my favorite pop record this year. Opener "Shallow" sets the brighter tone, with subway sounds crashing into drums and guitar. It's rather similar to New Order, both lyrically and rhythmically - and the same comparison could be made for much of the album. "A Place in Displacement," the record's first single, sounds a bit like last year's "Waiting For the Siren Call" (from the aforementioned influence) - not a bad song to bite. "Safety in Numbers" flips between a sexy retro beat and a dark, harmony-laced chorus, while "Up Close and Personal" jumps from slow rhythms to bouncy indie pop (complete with handclaps) broken up with an aggressive chorus.

The formula of blissful instrumentation and gorgeous harmonies reaches its peak on "Meant to Mean." Complemented by a string section, the track would have made for a better closer than "Flesh and Bone," the only one I find myself skipping.

4 (out of 5)

::1 Related Link::
1 South My Space Page

::Video::
"A Place in Displacement"