I fell in love with Carina Round’s first album, with it’s punchy, raw energy sizzling through the album from start to finish and with some great tracks. So after quite a while, Round has returned with her second album, Slow Motion Addict a much more pop-like record than her previous effort, it’s interesting if not inspiring.
The album opens with a blinding, racey track with Stolen Car. It’s fast, furious and rather generic but it gets the blood racing well enough. It’s followed by a slower track, How Many Times, which again feels rather generic, but lyrically engages, even if the theme feels a bit like mainstream pop. It’s a bit repetitious to be honest, and I got sick of hearing it after two turns.
Gravity Lies opens with loud guitars, whispering vocals, and comes across like a PJ Harvey inspired track. It’s a catchy track, repetitive just like How Many Times, but much more bareable mostly down to Round’s capturing vocals. It even goes a little Nirvana/Nevermind-ish towards the end of the track, which is no bad thing, but it doesn’t feel particularly original.
Ready to Confess continues the lack of originality and inspiration, by offering a track that could be by any number of bands around today doing the pop rock thing, thrashing their guitars and throwing in an easy chorus so you can sing a long and band your head to it. It’s loud, brash, but ultimately dull. I love Round’s screaming vocals towards the end though.
Want More is another catchy pedestrian track, and I’m already getting sick of the album. It’s just got “Mainstream wannabe” all over it, and does no credit to Carina Round’s vocals or her ability to write solid lyrics. It’s a detriment, and a pretty awful one at that.
Take the Money is slightly more interesting, but again I’d like to see Round develop her own style rather than imitating Harvey’s earlier works. It’s a decent track, but it’s becoming hard to distinguish the difference between tracks that are good and the tracks that are bad. There’s a very fine line which is hard to distinguish. It is, yet again, and repetitious after a while.
Downslow again reminds me of other bands, rather than reminding me that this is Carina Round album, which perhaps defeats the purpose of making the album in the first place. If you want to remind people of other bands, then just do covers, it’s easier and at least we know where you stand. It’s a slow track, doesn’t really engage, but at least we finally get to hear Round’s voice, as opposed to being drowned out by noise.
Ok this is different but familiar at the same time, it’s a brilliant track and feels rather 80s which isn’t a bad thing. Come To You is the first track than I can openly say I liked out right without having to force myself to. A great chorus, great vocals, and reminiscent of the female vocalists of the 80s, powerful but engaging.
The album’s title track, Slow Motion Addict, offers itself in two parts, the slow build up where you can hear Round and then the loud, dramatic finish where she’s barely audible. It works if you just wanna hear the guitars for 70% of the track without Round’s voice appearing. Fine, if you like that sort of thing. If I really wanted to listen to guitars being played with loudness and skill, I’d listen to a Heavy Metal, which I do often. It’s not out of place, but it’s such an empty track and void of much merit.
January Heart is dull, lifeless, and frankly annoying. I wasn’t aware Carina Round could dwell lyrically in such self pity, offering a boring track with little to offer the fan. The Disconnection serves no better, and just tired the hell out of me listening to it. To be honest, I’m surprised I got this far through the album, but the pain is almost at an end.
The penultimate track, The City, makes me want to fall alseep as the lyrics say, offering something different on the album which is sort of likeable but doesn’t quite achieve it. Once more we’re in “this sounds like…” territory. It’s an inoffensive track, harmless really, but it doesn’t ignite anything within me, nor does it grab me.
What the hell happened to Carina Round? The final track, Same Girlfriend, does her no favours, and comes across as a cliched rock track on generic artist number x’s album. It’s terrible, and makes my head hurt and not beacuse it’s loud, like I said I like her screaming, but I hate the music, the album as a whole and the lyrics in general.
I had massively high hopes for Carina’s follow up to The Disconnection which is a far superior, original and accomplished album than this pop fest of mediocrity. I love the album cover though, shame about the album. Return to sender.
Verdict: An album that does little justice to Round’s talent, stick to The Disconnection.
Track Listing
1. Stolen car
2. How many times
3. Gravity lies
4. Ready to confess
5. Want more
6. Take the money
7. Downslow
8. Come to you
9. Slow motion addict
10. January heart
11. The disconnection
12. The city
13. Same girlfriend