Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Rasmus, The
Label: Universal Music Group
Release: 2012
Length: 41:25
Rating: 3/5
The Rasmus hardly need a big introduction. They’re a four-piece from Helsinki, Finland, who crashed into the top tier of the profitable, MTV-style commercial gold rush with their fifth album, »Dead Letters« (2003), especially once most of the planet sank its teeth into that album’s single In The Shadows. While the band managed to hold on to its commercial success with the follow-up »Hide From The Sun«(2005), »Black Roses« (2008) signaled that the band’s album sales were heading downhill. Some of the expressive dullness of »Black Roses« can be blamed on the band’s collaboration with Desmond Child, who sonically “washed” the Finns and stripped them of one of their key trademarks: their “Europeanness”. With »Black Roses«, The Rasmus were basically chasing, and missing, the average trend-driven worldview of the new-age American teenager.
So for the new album they badly needed a change. They had to move the bar somewhere else and set themselves a new challenge. They turned to a man they can trust at any moment: producer Martin Hansen, the guy who watched over the sound of »Into« (2001), then The Rasmus’s most successful album »Dead Letters« and its follow-up »Hide From the Sun«. Not only does Hansen surely not sell his services as dearly as the notorious Desmond Child, but the choice came down to a simple fact: Martin Hansen knows the members of The Rasmus like the back of his hand! So at this point in their career, which you could also call an “identity crisis”, The Rasmus couldn’t have found better studio help than Martin Hansen.
On »The Rasmus« the quartet once again managed to restore its “typicality”, and to that constant of expression it successfully bolted on sonic novelties that were essential in the search for a way out of a mild identity crisis. To the guitar-driven form they added synth arrangements in equal measure and came away with a musical image for the new album that sounds even more invasive, or infectious, on the radio. Right on first listen, then, it’s instantly catchy. Trivially easy melodic forms practically compete over which one will leave the sweeter impression on the listener. In that respect, »The Rasmus« is certainly the most directly mainstream-oriented product of The Rasmus’s career to date. Despite the bold crossing of the traditional The Rasmus sound with synthesizers, the band isn’t inventing anything new in terms of artistic originality. It’s more accurate to say they borrow tried-and-tested moves from other artists and build those tricks into their own proven character. In doing so, The Rasmus have successfully added a new sonic quality to their range, safely landing on a newly discovered patch of the musical universe, which gives them every credible reason for further artistic growth. Of course, the more sonic experimentation the better, but you can’t demand the genius of sonic manipulation and the original stance of, say, Radiohead (who are also commercially successful) from The Rasmus. Despite its new sonic look, »The Rasmus« is still first and foremost a cautious product that wants, first and foremost, to please the masses. With lyrics that fourteen-year-old girls will once again fall for first and foremost. You can’t expect, or (any longer) demand, anything else from a band whose main concern is commercial success.
The album is once again packed with Lauri Ylönen’s recognizable “neotenic-boyish” vocals, and it’s not hard to find arrangement parallels with the band’s past work. All the songs are arranged so that they constantly serve the hunt for melodically infectious lead motifs. The overall feeling is autumnal. The Rasmus are melancholic, and the slightly gloomy character adds a mild, moody bitterness to the trivially easy sweetness of the expression, but don’t go digging into the lyrics, because they’re full of pathetic wailing. In terms of softening the sound, End Of The Story and You Don’t See Me can be declared the two tracks that come closest to pop cosmetics. Roughly something the band already tried out on »Into«. The dreamy Sky and/or Somewhere turn toward Sail Away from »Hide From The Sun.« The symphonic elements in Friends Don’t Like That hold on to tricks the guys already tried on »Black Roses«.
The new The Rasmus album undoubtedly surprises in terms of sound and arrangement character. The band needed a change. Lauri Ylönen’s solo studio release »New World« (2011) already hinted that something like this was on the horizon. It’s an album full of contrasts when you set it against the band’s earlier work. It’s crammed with tinkering around with electronic sound loops. On »The Rasmus« the guitar rock sound is of course still clearly front and center, only this time it keeps equal company with synth arrangements and programmed sound loops. Given that Ylönen is The Rasmus’s main songwriter, it’s perfectly logical that part of the substance created for »New World« also spilled over onto »The Rasmus« (It’s Your Night, I’m A Mess). I’m A Mess, whose verse pretty much channels the cosmetics of Depeche Mode (from 1990 onward), has already come out as the first single presenting the album »The Rasmus«.
»The Rasmus« is no creative peak. It cautiously combines the band’s traditional sound with a new sonic dimension. Despite being a radio-oriented album, it’s almost impossible to find any hit potential. The most “toxic” track on the album, Save Me Once Again, comes closer to it than the already released hit single I’m A Mess. »The Rasmus« is an album of cautious groping. A quality album that fans of the band undoubtedly already have in their collection. Not exactly a gem that shines brightest in the band’s run of releases to date, but certainly light years away from the empty suggestion that it would bring the band a “creative misfire”.
Lineup
Lauri Ylönen – vocals
Pauli Rantasalmi – guitar
Eero Heinonen – bass guitar
Aki Hakala – drums
Production
Martin Hansen
Track list
1. Stranger
2. I’m A Mess
3. It’s Your Night
4. Save Me Once Again
5. Someone’s Gonna Light You Up
6. End Of The Story
7. You Don’t See Me
8. Somewhere
9. Friends Don’t Do Like That
10. Sky
