Architecture in Helsinki were a band I came across due to a recommendation from a friend. In swapping our new music discoveries she lent me their album ‘In Case We Die’. The title sounds pretty morbid, but don’t worry its nothing depressing. Rather in fact the opposite. Architecture in Helsinki are a band that play a mixture of instruments, rather akin to Arcade Fire, but with a twist that makes them sound more like the Go! Team. What I mean to say is that they sound like a bunch of 6 year olds who’ve been let loose in the music storeroom (but obviously with a little bit more structure than that!).
The album, ‘In Case We Die’, is on the whole an upbeat recording with some classics like ‘It’5’ and ‘Wishbone’. It’s the kind of music that makes a summer day seem even brighter and reminds you of great nights out in the winter. The chord changes are unpredictable but satisfying and the range of instruments keeps you on your toes. For those who want a bit more info I’m going to go into some detail about the individual tracks now…
1 – ‘Neverevereverdid’ Not only is the title hard to type, but the track is hard to describe as well. The bells at the begging are pretty ominous and then we’re treated to what sounds suspiciously like a swany-whistle with opera singing over the top and some screechy noises. No, don’t worry; this isn’t going to turn into some prog-rock craziness with no structure. The intro is just the opening that
juxtaposes against the very simple but beautiful child-like melody. Then the temp builds and you can’t help but shout along. I have no idea what they are saying, but its enormous fun!
2 – ‘It’5’ Personally this is my favourite track on the album. The title (I think) is a culmination of the words its and five, which interestingly sound very similar to ‘it’s fine’. The backing to this track is really funky and makes you want to dance. The inevitable ‘ooo’ phrases (of which there is nothing wrong with – who doesn’t like to oo along to a song?) are backed by some steady solid chords that are very reminiscent of Sufjan Stevens. I love shouting along ‘But its’5! It is 5!’.
3 – ‘Tiny Paintings’ This song has such a cute name and seems to start with what sounds like a tuba solo and xylophone. The melody to this is pretty simple, but very pleasant. There’s a slightly disturbing bit where the male singer seems to sing slightly too high for too long, but the rest is great.
4 – ‘Wishbone’ ‘Wishbone’ is probably my second favourite track on the album. There’s a female vocalist to this one: imagine Joanna Newsom crossed with Ninja from the Go! Team singing. This track is nicely fragmented and fades into a very quiet section and then bops back into the kind of beat I used to love dancing to on my Fisher Price tape player when I was little.
5 – ‘Maybe You Can Owe Me’ A much slower track, which is very pleasant, but out of any of the songs on the album is the only one I can imagine turning into a backing track for an advert or a BBC2 jingle.
6 – ‘Do The Whirlwind’ The opening to this one is really magical with lots of noises going on that I can’t define. Then a rather electronic modular backing seeps into the music. This is a bit more formulaic than the other tracks, but it’s still good. The range of instruments, including Indian-sounding refrain in the middle, stops even the simplest song going awry.
7 – ‘In Case We Die (Parts 1-4)’ “I’ve got problems, I’m gonna use them’. The rhythm to the vocals on this track is magic and works rally well poetically. Again, this track is very fragmented, but in the kind of experimental way that makes it sound like it could run off into the Beatles or Starlight Express at any moment. This is a mental song and it’s amazing. There’s even a military drumming section that is very Arcade Fire-esque, crossed with folk violins! What more could you want?!
8 – ‘Cemetery’ This sounds vaguely tropical and isn’t one of my favourite tracks, but that’s not to say its bad. The song picks up near the end and turns into another anthemic Architecture in Helsinki classic.
9 – ‘Frenchy, I’m Faking’ What a great title. This track sounds a lot like Sufjan Stevens in its use of trumpet melodies. This isn’t such a thick track instrument as the others, but there’s a great section where it sounds like everyone in the band is singing along.
10 – ‘Need To Shout’ There’s a bit of a round going on this song. Its nice and light, but not my favourite.
11 – ‘Rendezvous’ This track sounds positively French and kind of musak-like. Its very pleasant and a nice relaxing song. There are no vocals here, but it doesn’t seem to need them. You might call this the filler track of the album I guess.
12 – ‘What’s In Store?’ Opening with what sounds awfully like a small organ or synthesiser, this track slowly builds the temp of the album back up again after ‘Rendezvous’. The trumpet melody here sounds really vocal and it’s another song that’s great to sing along to once it gets going. “When we get together – no need to be clever…”
13 – ‘Bats and Rats and Murderers’ A quiet flute, piano and guitar opening that is slowly joined by soft male vocals. Seems a very unlikely combination for a song with a title like this, but what is Architecture in Helsinki if not paradoxical? A short track at 1min 25, but a very pleasant way to end the album.
This is the kind of album that some people will probably only listen to the first half of. Tracks 8-13 are much less bouncy than the beginning of the album, but this is really nice and follows the logical progression of the album in my mind. When I listen to this album on my CD player I tend to play it on random/shuffle as this means I don’t fall asleep if I’m working by the end! However, this isn’t to say that the end of the album I bad in any way. I love Architecture in Helsinki – they are my new favourite band. Why? I hear you ask? They’re just so experimental and ingenious, but with a real sense of structure and progression and a desire just to have fun, no matter what people will say. I advise you to listen to it at your earliest opportunity! Its under Ł5 on Amazon at the moment – I haven’t seen such a bargain as that for such great music in a long time. Go listen and spread the word.
Thanks for reading!
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Aug 16th, 2007
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