aaamusic | On 30, May 2011

Reading the press release for Strange Days you immediately get the impression that the name is befitting of the group.  Having disbanded way back in 1984, they have reformed and brought out their first record entitled Songs for Mr Sloane.  Although there are some impressive elements to Strange Days, the end result isn’t as promising as it could be.  The guitar throughout is well crafted, perhaps too much so as everything fits in unison rather than a mish-mash of styles being thrown together.

Strange Days do have an impressive song writing ability, in particular tracks like Paris in the Rain have been well written, although the end product doesn’t really reflect the quality of the lyrics.  Other tracks on the album as standalone tracks are quite good, but the combination of acoustic guitar, electric guitar and piano all being the focal point on different tracks doesn’t really work and the LP ends up lacking consistency.  Other songs like Youre Right are too fast paced to match the rest of the album, which results in you checking iTunes every five seconds to make sure you’re not listening to the wrong band.

It’s an ok record by Strange Days, although you could question how wide the appeal of the band is.  I’m sure they could enjoy considerable success on the local circuit, but any further for this group would seem to be a bridge too far.  To be fair though the album is definitely a grower and fans of the likes of Elbow may enjoy the group.

Author: Tom Crowther