Much Against Everyone's Advice - Soulwax > Reviews > Certainly Not Against My Advice

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Definitely a cut above the rest
Lyrics	Thought-provoking
Quality and consistency of tracks	A couple of weak links
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Not applicable
Value for Money

Advantages:	Original in rock terms, catchy tunes, nice instrumentals
Disadvantages:	a little short in duration, a couple of obvious fillers

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Think of Belgium, and what comes to mind certianly isnt rock music, however, a band under the name of Soulwax hope to change this. Soulwax, for those unfamiliar with them, are a 5 piece alternative/rock band who released one of the standout albums of last year.

I first witnessed the band at last years T In The Park music festival. I had no great ambitions of seeing them live, but their early afternoon slot in an undercover tent, sounded appealing when I was trying my upmost best to escape the cold and wet. After waiting 15 minutes for the band to appear, I certainly wasnt expecting anything of high quality, however they did manage to surprise me, and reflecting back on the festival as a whole, they were definitely one of the highlights of the weekend.

A couple of months after their appearance, they released the single 'Too Many DJ's'. On first listen, it sounds nothings special, but the more you listen, the better it becomes. The track is highly original in todays rock terms, with an anthemic chorus and a highly respectable instrumental. The track was the main inspiration to me, as well as their live performance, to take that step and go out and purchase the album.

Onto the album then, and its true that the single was only an appetizer, with the best still to come. The first five tracks on the album are amongst the best you are ever likely to come across. Each of them expressing a whole new mood and emotion, and thus giving the album a unique feel to it. The opening track, which is an excellent introduction to the album, and incidentally was the first single from the album - 'Conversation Intercom', is similiar in a way to 'Too Many DJ's' with a hugely catchy chorus and sing along lyrics.

The standout on the album however is the third track 'When Logics Die'. This is a simple ballad, dripping in emotion and sincerity. The piano playing in the background at the beginning, setting off the well sung vocals perfectly. The lyrics are simply gorgeous and sound heart-felt, and when you consider that english is not the vocalists first language, it sounds all the more extraordinary. Near the end of the track, it breaks off into an instrumental with a well arranged string-line.

Infact the instrument playing throughout the album is one of the key factors in the overall sound being as of such high quality. Normally instrumentals involve crashing air guitars and heavy drums, but not with Soulwax. Instead we have orchestral strings and acoustic guitars.

However, this is by no means a perfect album, for one.. it is much to short at only 32 minutes in duration. This problem was re-addressed in an early release of the album, containing a bonus cd which was also of a high quality. In addition to this, the album does trail off at the end, with a couple of very obvious fillers. But with 8 of the 11 songs of such a high quality, we can hardly complain.

This album isnt just for rock fans, infact rock isnt generally my favourite genre yet 'Much Against Everyones Advice' remains one of my favourite albums of the last couple of years. If you are an Indie/Rock fan however, and you dont own a copy of this album, I doubt you will regret adding this to your shopping list. Fans of other genres might well prefer to listen to the singles 'Too Many DJ's', 'Conversation Intercom' and 'Much Against Everyones Advice' first before purchasing. If these songs appeal to you, then it is an almost guarantee that the album will be a good buy.