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I became aware of The Murder Of My Sweet in 2010 when they released Divanity, but I never really listened to them... Now the Swedish are back with Bye Bye Lullaby and I realize that I have to check out their previous work. Since Divanity the line-up changed, these days drummer Daniel Flores and singer Angelica Rylin are joined by bassist Teddy Westlund and guitarist Christopher Vetter.
They kick off with Armageddon, a symphonic rocker which is ennobled by Angelica Rylin's vocals. I like her timbre and that she's not into operatic vocals. At Unbreakable they add some electro sounds, but it's a sonic roller coaster ride with tempi changes. They create different atmospheres and it's like it's a soundtrack to a short film.
Songs like Violently Peaceful show potential, but sound a bit half-baked... For Meant To Last Forever they slow done, they focus on Angelica's vocals which is supported by keyboard only - at the beginning. Later the band joins in, but the songs stays balladesque, a kind of symphonic power ballad with a pop appeal. It's followed by Idolize, a song with 80's synthesizer sounds... And the synth annoy me, one would say it gives the song a different spin, but it's simply not my cup of tea. Anyway, the song is catchy and the vocals will hook you up. Another catchy one is Kind Of Lousy and this one isn't keyboard-laden, more a riff-based rocker. Waiting For The 27th (Booh Prologue) is another tune which has this soundtrack character, but can't grab me. At Black September they go full force! Angelica is showing more power, you get heavy, metallic riffs and this shows best what they are capable off. I wish more songs like Black September would have made it onto Bye Bye Lullaby. The closer Phantom Pain is also more metal, has a modern touch and is another good one. It seems that The Murder Of My Sweet are doing best when going metal... Hope for more metal next time!
The Murder Of My Sweet deliver a decent album, but even if the songs have a catchy edge, they aren't haunting. At Meant To Last Forever you won't get goose bumps, even if it's a good one. There is potential in each and every song, but it's like they didn't go the full distance... Perhaps they needed a bit more time... Anyway, if you like symphonic rock / metal with non-operatic vocals, then you should check out the latest The Murder Of My Sweet album!
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