arcane-beautiful This band was forced upon me. As odd as it sounds, its true.

Ok, so here's how I got into this band. One of my best friends is an absolute massive DMB fan. In fact he is such a big fan of them, for a brief period of time, he would never stop talking about them. So one fateful day, while we had study hall for 3 periods in a row (yes, this takes story takes place in school, and I was 16 at the time), my friend shoves his I Pod into my hands and basically forces me to listen to the album (also checking up on me to see if I was enjoying it throughout). Luckily enough he is one of my dearest friends, cause anyone else I would have told to f*** off. Another odd thing, was that even by force, this album is still amazing.

Now, these guys have changed a lot. From their jam band beginnings to their very dangerous flirtations with a more poppier sound, it really came to fruition on this album and from their newly formed sound, it received a lot of success. But...this album does have a slight morbid undertone.

Sadly this album is in tribute to their former saxophonist LeRoi Moore, who sadly passed away before the album was released. But oddly enough, despite the albums death laced tribute, the album itself is almost a celebration of life and love. Lyrically the album deals with topics such as love, happiness, rejection of religion towards happiness, evolution and a whole mixed bag of odd joy.

The band as always are tighter than a vice. Instrumentally, these guys are gods on their instruments. But the real highlight of the band is Dave. An amazing guitarist...but, also, an amazing vocalist. Knowing his range so well, he can really shock and suprise you at times.

The album opener “Shake Me Like A Monkey” is a perfect opener. A rather comical song with some nice rocking rhythms. And an amazing vocal performance from Dave.

The albums lead single “Funny The Way It Is” received a lot of radio attention, and I'm not so surprised, because it is a brilliant song. Mixing an incredibly catchy chorus with some rather odd timed instrumental passages, it is a real beautiful work of instrumentation. Another highlight is the lyrics, which are really some of the best I've seen in a long time.

Another successful single from this album was “Why I Am.” One of the best songs on the album and definitely one of the catchiest these guys have ever done.

One of my favourite tracks has to be “Squirm.” One of the more darker sounding songs on the album, dwelling with minor keys and eastern sounding melodies and arrangements, it really is a rather epic song and even sounds a bit like a Bond theme.

One of the albums most interesting moments has to be “Time Bomb.” Starting off like an acoustic ballad, it explodes into a rather angry song, with Dave screaming the lyrics at you.

In conclusion...what can I say, I love this album. This is just a wonderfully crafted, feel good, groovy, sugar coated collection of songs that never seem to not put a smile on my face. It's just good song after good song, which is what most albums should be after all.

8.8/10