This Is Not the World

It's been four long years since their amazing debut album, and two years since their lukewarm second album. The debut had such a quirky energy to it and different sound that you had to like it. The follow-up came and, well, it was disappointing. But that doesn't mean it was bad. News & Tributes was just too structured, but it does have its moments with Skip to the End, Burnt, News and Tributes, Back to the Sea, and Thursday. Come to think of it, that was a pretty darn good album.

But here we have their third effort. After being dropped from their major label, The Futureheads' future (pardon me) looked dim. But they've come back strong. I won't go song by song, but I'll give a review.

Immediately with "Beginning of the Twist" you can just feel that this album is going to be good. It's not as immediately catchy as the debut, but it's not as structured as News & Tributes. You might be tempted to say that they've found a balance, but that would mean that it sounds like a cross between the two. It doesn't. It actually sounds fresh and is really different from anything out there right now. Although, I do miss many of the harmonies of the first album (I used to tell people they were the post-punk Beach Boys). I would highly recommend giving this a few listens (notice I said a few, not one). It won't immediately hit you, but eventually it'll sneak into your subconscious and you'll find yourself coming back.

Top songs:
The Beginning of the Twist
Walking Backwards
Think Tonight
This Is Not the World
Hard to Bear
Broke Up the Time

9/10