seven

this time the band is trying to incorporate many influences in its sound, merging genres and adding new elements to what was formerly known as synth-pop sound. it appears that this step improved the overall accessibility of the music, but might lose quite a few fans that enjoyed simpler, softer sound of old releases. the contrast is even more obvious after listening to a wonderful version of famous "blue moon" present on this disk.

my favorite songs here include "anywhere" - strong energetic electro track with driving melody and funny lyrics; the vocals however is nice and clean. the bassline and pulsating beats would make it a nice dancefloor track.

slow ballads like "give in" and "self-deception" with their thick sound and multitude of instruments lost something that was present on previous albums - certain charming simplicity. melodic "remember" makes up for it, but distorted explosive beat on the background that contrasts the clean vocals and melodic synthlines take some patience to get used to.

"freedom" is very melodic and clean, at times slightly resembling nicely orchestrated rock-band sound. this feeling is even stronger in ballad "prayer", where guitar plays one of the leading roles in the beginning.

heavy breakbeats on "ride on a star" is yet another sound element that takes quite some time to get accustomed to, the "foreigner", however, seems to utilize those elements quite well, blending clean melodic elements with explosive beats.

new, more "universal" sound of the band might take some time to get used to; hopefully this is a starting point of a new direction that will bring more hits from this band.