Cornish band Thirteen Senses have a lot riding on the release of their new album Contact, out on April 2, but have responded to the challenge by turning all the volume knobs up to 11.
Songwriter Will South has already said that live he thought the earlier songs were a bit "wafty" and this time the guitars are to the forefront with a big beefy production by Coldplay producer Danton Supple.
These songs are huge with stadium sized riffs bouncing about all over the place. Thirteen Senses are no fools they stick to what they know but with choruses as big as this they deserve the same success Snow Patrol and The Kooks had last year.
Opener Contact starts the album as it means to go on with its quiet piano then very loud guitars, this band have stepped on the pedal called rock, as Jack Black might say. A meaty guitar riff builds with a celestial choir behind Will's choirboy vocals before some classic Coldplay like guitar lines.
First single All the Love in Your Hands, out in March, is where the band really start giving it some welly with again some solid riffing and some heavy drumming from Brendon James.
Animal goes for a distorted fuzzy guitar riff while Call Someone incorporates acoustic guitar to good effect with Will opining "the bigger you are the harder you fall", let's hope they don't get that big then.
Follow Me employs a church organ and another huge U2 like guitar riff from either Will or guitarist Tom Welham. One of the highlights of the album. Live is where this song's going to work best, it's huge.
Things lose momentum a bit with A Lot of Silence Here an atmospheric track that, perhaps is one of those that's guilty of the waft factor. The same can be said of Spirals where the quiet loud act is starting to sound a bit formulaic.
Things pick up again with Talking to Sirens starting off with an acoustic guitar with Will's plaintive vocals before a gorgeous guitar joins in with some lovely string arrangements.
Cello for Under the Sun didn't really register although again there are some nice subtle string arrangements.
Spark has lovely vocal from Will over a nice a piano line but dare I say it lacks spark. The lyric "all our consciousness drifts away" is probably appropriate for this one.
Ones & Zeros and the obligatory "hidden" track are both classic Thirteen Senses and good finish to a very satisfying album.
The proof is in the pudding as they say and where these songs will prove themselves is live on stage. On this evidence I look forward to seeing them storming the Princess Pavilions in Falmouth on March 7. Let's hope the stadium gigs aren't far away.
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