Reviewed by Rachel Nixon

This is the follow up to 2003's critically acclaimed '21st Century Spin' and the second instalment from popular Midlands-based rock band, Maccabees. Fans of Ordinary Boys, Kaiser Chiefs and Ash will enjoy this album and it is very much in keeping with modern rock trends. Extremely catchy riffs evident throughout and challenging lyrics are perhaps the most prominent features of this album. And I'm in agreement with Tony Cummings in talking about the 2003 album in describing Maccabees. "a load of righteous anger..deceptively melodic tunes with lyrics taking savage swipes at a bloated feel good generation, a perverted materialistic culture and above all a church asleep at the wheel." This is definitely the trend of this album and for Christians the lyrics certainly do challenge such as "Best Laid Plans" and "Death By Entertainment". Their passionate attack on the Catholic Church, "Rome", somewhat lets down the album and veers dangerously close to fundamentalist hectoring. Some vocals have a slight "home made"' sound and songs show little variation with repetition, simple structure and the same tinny guitar sounds. Exceptions are "Soon" which is a welcome, more relaxed change with piano introduction.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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