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MillencolinKingwood Burning Heart/Shock In this day and age of emo-balladry and punk-rock operas, whatever happened to the good-old fashioned punk rock album that was over in half an hour? I've missed it. And, until I heard Millencolin's sixth studio album 'Kingwood' I didn't realise quite how much I missed the Swedish skate-punkers. A lot. 'Kingwood' will be lapped up by the band's legions of fans, and, if any justice is served, will snare some more. 2002's 'Home From Home', while a solid, fun record and immensely popular, felt a little contrived, a little too clean. Millencolin were taking a turn towards garage rock and while 'Kingwood' sees them channel some of that energy, they do so with a lot more gritty passion, and they combine this with some more old-fashioned punk rock. While My Name Is Golden picks up where Kemp left off, Biftek Supernova cracks a long at the blistering pace of the Millencolin of old. At times, the band manage to recapture the brilliance of 2000's 'Pennybridge Pioneers'; lead single Ray captures the sheer joy of Fox, and the hook-laced highlight Stalemate the intensity and sharp simplicity of Penguins & Polarbears. The success has got to have something to do with producer Chips Kiesbye, whose dirtier, grungier sound far better suits the band than the ultra-crisp uber-production of Lou Giordano on 'Home From Home.' The combination of efforts old and new culminate on stand out track Farewell My Hell, with it's dirty riff action, thumping pace and slow build to an ultimately gratifying chorus: vocalist Nikola Sarcevic has never sounded so passionate, not even on last year's more subdued solo effort. Sure, they're not particularly original and their lyrics are at times a little thin ("I don't believe a future day / will make it go away), but Millencolin's charm goes much further then their Swedish accents.  |
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