Strength In Numbers (Special Edition) [Extra tracks, Special Edition]

This album is fantastic and will not disappoint existing fans and should win plenty of new ones. All the tracks have that trademark dance rock sound that makes The Music stand out from the rest of the indie scene.

* Please note that this version DOES contain two bonus tracks, 'The Price' and 'The Rain', but NOT 'No Danger', that is only available on the standard edition.
Also, the booklet DOES NOT contain track lyrics, just 4 art cards and one page of album credits. The lyrics can be found in the standard edition. *

I've never felt compelled to write a review on here before, but the nature of other Amazon reviews combined with this superb album and it's startling lack of exposure have roused me into a belated course of action. The problem I've had with certain reviews on Amazon is that I'm always left with the feeling certain "artists" could wipe their backsides on a CD and their deluded fanbase of automated sheep would drool regardless, as opposed to detaching themselves and scribing some semi-critical musings. So what kind of reviewer will I be?? I'd like to think the latter.

To give this review context I should first mention how I view this band. I first heard the original version of Take the Long Road and Walk It on Lamaq about 7 or 8 years ago. It was immediately clear there might be something special happening, then I heard The People: Sold!! However, I don't agree their debut album was the spectacular triumph some claim. Firstly, Jim Abiss never captured their live energy and it doesn't sound nearly as good as it should have done. Songs like the Dance and Disco are a structural mess buried beneath blurry production. That said, it does contain some fantastic tunes. The aforementioned numbers along with Getaway, the Truth is no Words, Human, Turn out the Lights and Too High are awe inspiring enough, but knowing the band were still in their teens at the time of writing and recording made me realise they had the potential to be the best British band since Led Zeppelin. And I don't say that lightly.

Welcome to the North followed in 2004. At the time I thought it was a solid album, but it never really captured my imagination. However, before the release of Strength in Numbers I re-visited it and realised that not only was it superior to their debut but had also dated a lot better. True, the strongest songs on their first record are better than most on the follow up, but Welcome to the North was a more consistent album in my book. They had a better producer, who captured the groove and energy in top notch fashion. Topped off with fantastic riffs, big choruses and hinting at a growing interest in lyricism it was a superb follow up to a promising debut. Two great albums - but I felt there was better to come.

Four years later and I'll smugly say I was proven right!! Strength in Numbers is the album they've threatened to make since the beginning. It's the record where their creative stars have alligned. Where the elements that make them so special converge into a musical masterpiece of groove, power and emotion topped off with a lyrical positivity that makes you feel you can overcome anything and everything life throws at you.

However, on first listen I wasn't so sure. Nothing really struck me as special. Then I listened again. And again. And again. Each time new layers hurled themselves out the speakers. With each spin the melodies buried themselves deeper inside my brain. Repeated playback convinced me this wasn't just the best album of the year to date, but possibly the best rock album of the decade.

In the four years they've been away the band have been through a lot and that comes through loud and clear in Rob Harvey's lyrics. Instead of wallowing in the past he channels the negativity of that time into uplifting anthems that deal with how to overcome and prosper in the face of adversity - something we can all understand. It was hilarious and refreshing to hear him interviewed recently - he said he couldn't relate to a lot of lyrics these days when bands are so superficial and sing songs about nothing more than how long they wear their trousers!! This album is the antithesis of that and deserves huge credit for rescuing us from banal mediocrity that is too readily celebrated and over hyped in this day and age.

There's been a lot made of the slight shift in musical direction, with the words techno and dance mentioned a lot, but for me this is just a fantastic rock album. There certainly are elements of Depeche Mode and Nine Inch Nails but they've been incorporated into the band's sound rather than changing it. The synths and electronics pound with the kind of groove and aggression that the legendary Zeppelin made their trademark. Yes, you can dance to it but that's because this is a rock band that know how to make you move, something that's been ingrained in their sound from the beginning.

So what of the songs?? Strength of Numbers is a solid start, pounding into life as a microcosm of what's good about this album - Great energy and musicianship, soaring vocals, a strong chorus and lyrics that act as a rallying cry towards positive action. The Spike is possibly the standout track, cool predatory verses topped off with a Kasabian-esque punk rock chorus soaked in sumptuous synths. Nice. Drugs has a similar structure, but with a chorus built for stadiums and verses that manage to be both electronic and funky. The left side continues Welcome to the north's (the song, not album) eastern feel topped off with the most uplifting chorus on the record. Fire rocks with a vengeance and Get Through It even has a beginning that sounds like the start of Knight Rider - can't be bad!! For me the highlight is Vision - emotive verses giving in to a spikey atmospheric chorus that will stick in your head until the end of days. There simply isn't a bad song on the album and even the two bonus tracks, The Price and The Rain, are worthy of being included without being tagged as extras. My only slight gripe is that the special edition doesn't have the lyrics printed out in the booklet. But it's only a small problem as you can find them easily on the internet.

Overall this is a band at the peak of their powers; a musical masterpiece that should hopefully see the band elevated to where they belong in the world as it blows nonsense like the kooks, Kaisers, Libertines, View etc well and truly off the musical map. My only concern is that it hasn't performed as well as it should have done in the charts. It's strange because the band are quite similar to Kasabian, albeit better musicians and songwriters (and I am a fan of Kasabian), but don't get the same recognition. Unfortunately I think that's because in Tom and Serge Kasabian have two guys with massive charisma, presence and the image needed to prosper - whereas no one in The Music really stands out in that way. Again it's a sad incictment of today's society that image is so important, but for those of you who can see beyond pale facades and want a little more depth then this is the band and the album for you. Let The Music do the talking.

Got this CD yesterday and I have to say this album for me is the best i've heard so far this year. I've been a fan of The Music since I heard 'Take the long road and walk it' back in 2002 and immediately purchased their debut which I found to a top record.
It's been four years since the last album was released and it has been well worth the wait. The overall feel of the album is that it has a more dance orientated feel to it then the previous two albums, though the indie sound is still there. All the tracks are amazing, though the stand out one's are strength in numbers, the spike, the left side, get through it, vision, the last one and cold blooded. I hope this album will do well cos the band really deserve it on this effort, the last album was under recognised which was a disappointment. Buy this album because you will not be disappointed at all. Five stars for sure.