Staff Reviews

Architecture In Helsinki - Moment Bends

Review by Andrew Kennedy

A mature, synthesizer dependent, chorus-centric songbook that could soundtrack Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. »

User reviews

• 7/10 by Samuka

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digipack version. you may not have expected it, but the first great modernist pop album of 2011 is here... four years on from their last album, architecture in helsinki return with the hook-laden, magnetic and lush 'moment bends'. it sounds like the album they've waited their whole lives to make, retaining the fizzing immediacy of its three predecessors and re-moulding with a more sophisticated touch. in large parts, 'moment bends' is in dialogue with the dance floor, without being a slave to any particular rhythm. so, imagine a sound equal parts italia 82, california 79, and melbourne 2011, glued together with a dynamic bounce and a compelling romanticism. recorded over a 2 year period in the band's studio space, buckingham palace, songwriter cameron bird says: "'moment bends' was all about being at one with our ideas, obsessed with popular music and falling in love with our hometown. we wanted to build a record to get lost in. a record that always feels exactly what you are feeling". the band enlisted long-time friend and collaborator francois tetaz to guide them through the record making process, in a 'spiritual healing / co-production / mixing role'. the result speaks for itself. with it's effortless mix of the ambiguous and the familiar, not to mention it's 11 killer songs, 'moment bends' might just be your new favourite record.
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