THE BIRTHDAY MASSACRE WALKING WITH STRANGERS ALBUM REPO, METROPOLIS; SOUND POLLUTION RELEASE: SEPTEMBER 21, 2007 REVIEW: OCTOBER 9, 2007

Yeehaa! The new album from Toronto's The Birthday Massacre starts with a bang, when ”Kill the Lights” gets going. Throughout the Dave Ogilvie-produced "Walking with Strangers", moody and heavy electronics juxtaposes the massive guitars nicely, and the female voice work splendidly together with the music.

Sometimes I find myself wishing for a more expressive voice on Chibi though, as she often sounds pretty bland, devoid of emotion. There are glimpses of feelings of course, as in the title track for example.

The album is pretty solid, but as always there are some tracks that just pass you by. Some songs are really strong though, and lift the album a notch above many others of this ilk. There are several very hummable melodies to be found, and they keep bouncing around in my head at work.

To be fair though, there’s not much progression from the previous album "Violet", but The Birthday Massacre seem to have figured out what they do best, and focused on that.

JOHAN CARLSSON