aaamusic | On 04, Mar 2012

Okay, I’ll hand it to Sound Of Guns, they are prolific. This is our fourth time crossing paths in fact, and although in some ways they have started to be a little more interesting around the edges, the lasting impression I have of ‘Angels And Enemies’ is largely indifferent.

 

Album opener ‘Sometimes’ has a nice piano hook and arena rock drums that will doubtless get massive airplay, and likewise the climactic ‘Antarctica’ has its eyes set firmly on climbing to Wembley Stadium, with its immense production and bigger sound that bilds to a finale that wouldn’t go amiss in a “hero and heroine kissing in the rain” scene in this month’s blockbuster. Too bad that ‘The Oceans, The Seas, The Rivers’ has a burst of “woah-oh-oh”s opening it, because as ballads go, it could be worse, if it weren’t for the turgid, overbearing chorus. The verses are a nice, vaguely blues-pop waltz, but the chorus dumps a steaming mess of backing vocals and soaring clichés that swamp the song’s better sensibilities. And the album takes a dip from there unfortunately. ‘Flash Of Light’ and ‘The Whites Of Your Eyes’ are the same old rock anthems as ever. The latter perhaps having a weary beauty to it, but the handclaps grate too much to reach a breakthrough. ‘Guide’ swerves between interest and tedium, but thanks to its repetitive nature plumps for the latter. ‘End Of The World’ has more energy going for it, but in many respects it’s all a bit too late – it’s a great singalong in many respects, but it should have come a song or two earlier to keep the album’s mood going. The final track, ‘Of Our Own Invention’, is obviously trying to be a rousing, heart-tugging song to end all songs, and the sound is there: reverb coats the song like cat hair sticks to any smart item of clothing, and the ascending/descending backing vocals in the chorus match the keening guitars well, and, well, exactly as you’d expect them to. The tolling bells at the end are a nice touch, I’ll have to say though.

 

The thing is that once again, I find it hard to specifically fault Sound Of Guns. They can write a serviceable hook and a solid lighters-in-the-air moment. The problem is that there isn’t really a hell of a lot that I can find to make me want to be swept up in all this. It’s a bit like flat-pack furniture. It works, and in most cases it’s actually pretty alright. But unless something really special happens to you in particular that involves a particular chair/song etc, it’s not going to really stick with you. Those guitars will soar, and the legs won’t fall off in mid-slouch, but wouldn’t you rather have something a bit more special?

 

Katie H-Halinski