STRIP MUSIC HOLLYWOOD & WOLFMAN ALBUM PLAYGROUND RELEASE: OCTOBER 11, 2006 REVIEW: OCTOBER 30, 2006

The stripped down audio shells of the early Yvonne releases showed little sign of the fattened, synth tinted, arena rock to come on "Hollywood & Wolfman". Much like the self-titled debut, this album draws from fleshy string arrangements on guitar and synth fused foundations and singer Henric de la Cour's moody howling.

The press material shouts evolution and a whole new sound, but I find but tenderly fractional updates in a somewhat tired formula. Now, I like garlic quite a bit, but I use it with moderation. Overdoing what you like; be it food, movies or music, or what you are good at, tend to become uninteresting and routine after a while. Strip Music, while skilled at their craft, boost their pompous engine a tad too much here and there on this new offering. The song writing still excels, thankfully, but patches of it are concealed by the sheer volume of sound.

The devotees won't have any problems praising "Hollywood & Wolfman" as it plays to the band's strenghts, maybe too much this time around. "This Morning", "Bright Eyes" and "Lucy" are the lightposts to go for first.

NIKLAS FORSBERG