Architecture in Helsinki
Issue #33
Places Like This (Polyvinyl)
By Lori Finkel
Published: September 1st, 2007 | 12:00am
Architecture in Helsinki’s newest full-length, Places Like This, continues the delectable fizzy pop that 2005’s In Case We Die brought.
Every song on the Australian sextet’s third proper album channels a fantastic themed dance party: jungle boogie on “Heart it Races,” under-the-sea adventures in “Underwater” and “Like it or not,” ’70s roller disco in “Red Turned White” and “Hold Music,” and an intergalactic gala in “Feather in a Baseball Cap.”
Along with the album’s super-catchy drum beats comes super-catchy voice rhythms: ’60s doo-wop nonsense such as “Aye ya ya woo woo” in “Lazy (Lazy),” “Wah wah wah” in “Like it or Not,” and “Boom da na na na na” in “Heart it Races.” Although AiH is typically a noise band that bangs on random instruments in random increments, Places is cleaner and more composed than previous efforts.
Although Places won’t challenge you musically, it is a succulent guilty-pleasure album. Pop in some bubble gum, slip on some sweet rollerskates, shake your bolts, and lose yourself in Places Like This.
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