The Sounds – Dying To Say This To You / 2006 New Line / 11 Tracks / http://www.the-sounds.com / http://www.newlinerecords.com / Reviewed 25 February 2006

Mix together the Sahara Hotnights, The Veronicas, “La La”-style Ashlee Simpson and The Donnas and individuals will have the beginning of an idea about what The Sounds sound like. Each track on “Dying To Say This To You” could easily be transferred to radio, even though the arrangements that couch tracks like “Queen of Apology” are nothing less than inspired. The infusion of such a heavy synthesizer line to tracks like the aforementioned “Queen of Apology” and “Tony The Beat” turning The Sounds into a Rapture-like brand of dance-punk.

There is a sharp edge here but it is moderated by the disco like drum beats that make themselves known throughout. Individuals can be acclimated to music that is the absolute opposite end of the dance-punk that The Sounds come up with “Dying To Say This To You” and still find some threads that they can groove out on. Another interesting track awaits listeners for “24 Hours”; the bulk of the track screams with the simplisticity of The Ramones, but the chorus brings 80s pop (Debbie Gibson, Tiffany) as well as Abba to the range of sounds that the Sounds could conceivably use. Bringing another infectious synthesizer line to “Dying To Say This To You”, there is little doubt that this album will be used at parties all across the world. There is nothing weak on this album; even if individuals do not like the easily-digestible music that The Sounds put forth, they have to see the beauty of the synthesizer lines or the diversity of arrangements throughout the album.

The amazing thing about “Dying To Say This To You” is that the most solid track on the disc is not the more common, dance-punk of tracks like “Queen of Apology” but is actually the hyper-emotional pseudo-ballad “Night After Night”. Not a ballad in the cheesy sense of the term, “Night After Night” is heart-wrenching in much of the same way as the (original) “Hurt”; The Sounds do not have to go overboard with the schmaltzy sentiment to succeed in a completely different dimension from the one they started out “Dying To Say This To You” out with. “Night After Night” continues the heavily emotional content but brings The Sounds back to the dance-punk well one more time. The antiseptic synthesizer lines reappear in a reduced capacity, as The Sounds continue to succeed in different styles. Pick up this album, one will not be disappointed.

Top Tracks: Night After Night, Queen of Apology

Rating: 7.6/10

[JMcQ]