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Trademark - Raise the Stakes
Finally the new Trademark album “Raise the Stakes” has arrived at my door. And very good it is too.
2004’s “Want More” was a rather nice little album, but a little “art-school students playing with synths” at times. By that I mean it seemed a little too pretentious in places and lacking in focus. It did, however, contain such gems as “Hold that Thought”, “Sine Love”, “Interim”, “Stay Professional”, the Depeche Modeish “All Too Late” and “Trust in What You know” which is a good chunk of solid album by anyone’s standards.
So what of the new one? Well, it’s a definite progression. “Come to Love” has been around for ages now and is an excellent slice of simple solid electro-pop, a furrow which they continue to plough with “Toe the Line” and “Where You Went Wrong” and “Stuck in a Rut”. But there is more too. Choirs appear on various tracks, adding an additional colour and flavour to “Stuck in a Rut” - otherwise a sister track to the ones previously mentioned - and giving an extra mournful quality to the simple melancholy of “More Than I Deserve” and “Self Pity”, the latter of which starts unpromisingly enough but develops a soaring quality in its alloted minute and a half.
“The Circle I’m In” is a pleasant enough ditty if a tad bland for my taste (you all by now know my feelings towards slow tracks) and instrumental opener “Raising the Stakes” leads into “Come to Love” effortlessly, again starting simply enough but soon soaring its way towards the segue. “Over and Over” is a favourite from their live shows and is a chunky stomper designed for a good hard moshing.
All told, the only tracks that really don’t grab me are “It Wasn’t Right” (it seems to be trying to hard really), “How Times Change” (shorter and more shimmering than “Self Pity” but less interesting) and “Three Strikes” which doesn’t half go on (that said “Trust in What You Know” did as well, but this one just doesn’t work for me).
Still, three out of twelve tracks is still a good hit-rate. And the others are so polished and assured that it seems hard to imagine why Trademark haven’t yet achieved greater fame.
But there we go - when they finally do at least I can say I was in at the beginning!
Highly recommended.
Posted on April 26, 2007 | Filed Under Pop Music
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Response left by Simon on May 9th, 2007
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Hot tip, unless you’ve already heard it - Groove Armada’s latest CD is the biz. Quite electro, from Human Leaguey-type synths to bodypoppin’ planet rock stuff. Mutya from the Sugababes sings on a track too!