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Siamese

Siamese

Written by: LF on 19/01/2015 18:37:42

I first encountered the Danish rock band Siamese (previously Siamese Fighting Fish) when they were touring Denmark in support of their second album "Breathe:See:Move" back in 2012. Since then said album has been in steady rotation on my stereo and it must have been the album I listened to the most in 2013 by a mile. Since then Siamese have been steadily evolving as a band and today their self-titled, third album comes out. Just as between their first and second record, it's evident that they've evolved since their last release, and while they still retain their recognizable edge and progressive tendencies, this album sees them messing once again with the genre-constructs of rock music. It's a very diverse and refreshing album as they incorporate pop, funk and electronic elements in their sound, which is still not quite like the sound of any other band I can think of.

The entire album is very bombastic not least due to the loud and groovy guitar riffs, booming drums, and well-placed vocal harmonies that give vocalist Mirza Radonjica's already incredibly powerful voice some extra substance across the songs. The somewhat unusual inclusion of violinist Christian Hjort Lauritzen in the band allows them as always to build up a more sensitive and dramatic atmosphere in the midst of this towering, guitar-dominated sound. Radonjica provides soaring, emotional melodies at every turn and his very personal lyrics bind the album together, always balancing on an edge between hopefulness and confessional darkness.

The strong single and album opener "Tomorrow Never Dies" is a good example of how all these things come together in Siamese's sound. However, it also illustrates how this album is extremely compact to a point where its huge sounds are almost crammed too tightly. This does mean that all the songs pack a very firm punch but it also means that there's no space left for the songs to "breathe" and to give them that amazing air of grandeur that "Breathe:See:Move" had. Still, the album flows well and it has more than just a few good moments on it. The funk-inspired "Ordinary" is definitely a highlight with its irresistible and hard-hitting but also very danceable rhythms. "Bleed" that arrives on the latter half of the album is a spine-chilling track that features piano and ghostly, electronic beats in the foreground while also leaving a lot of space for Radonjica's vocals - a vulnerable position that fits very well with the song's lyrics.

Every one of the rest of the songs is well-composed and they almost all have a remarkable element in them that'll make them stick to your brain whether it's the incredibly tight rhythm in the verse-lines of "Pictures", the climax-building melodies in the bridge of "Advice To A Son", or the prominent violin riffs throughout "Gods & Kings". As such, none of them fall through in the overall order of the album and even though I haven't quite gotten used to the changes in Siamese's sound yet, it seems the songs only get more and more addictive with time. Even as I miss something similar to their more chaotic outbursts from earlier releases, there's just no denying that they are a very talented band with some solid songwriting skills. Whether you approve of their evolution as a band or not, it's for sure that this is another good release by them, and they're still a band that I'd recommend to anyone anywhere who's interested in rock music.

Download: Tomorrow Never Dies, Ordinary, Bleed
For The Fans Of: Exit Ten, Don Broco, Biffy Clyro, (new) Lower Than Atlantis
Listen: facebook.com/sififi

Release date 19.01.2015
Prime Collective