THE 69 EYES

ANGELS

(EMI/Virgin/Dallas, 2007)

The 69 Eyes.  No ANGELS in real life..

Strangely enough, when I first listened to this album on my way to New York City to see the band live, my first impression was very negative.  After having followed a band for some time, it becomes obvious that you create your own personal expectations of what their latest album should be like, and it’s usually a mixture of all that they have and you love from previous albums.  However, if a group is creative enough and allows themselves to evolve without any external rules, as a result you get something new and different to all previous works.  In my opinion, this is extremely positive for any band, it is music and creativity at its best.
So, when I returned from my trip, having enjoyed another great live gig by The 69 Eyes, for a second time I gave these guys another chance.  Although the first time I had felt dissapointed, this time I listened to each an every song individually, taking notice of the lyrics and the music.  I discovered how wrong I had been on my flight to NYC.  Now that I was listening to Angels with an open mind of someone who listens to something new without any prejudices, I discovered another side to The 69 Eyes.  Expecting the unexpected, I found all that anticipated from a group like The 69 Eyes but with a difference.  Take for instance the song Ghost, simple but deep lyrics that give you some words for thought.  The feeling of loneliness transmitted through the music and lyrics is amazing.  As also happens with Never Say Die, with a stronger, faster beat, the melody gives way to deep lyrics that not only remind you of a vampire song, but, once again the feeling of lost love.
And amongst the depth of words, we find those typical just fun songs.  With the first beats of The Rocker, you can just feel the lighthearted lyrics coming on and enjoy a good time.  And for a bad day, when you need to evade yourself, Frankenhooker is the song, simple, fun lyrics, with a sturdy melody and good rock n’ roll beat, you will forget your problems, because “You suck!”. 
In a nutshell, the songs in Angels have a variety of lyrics which are accompanied by good solid musical arrangement that has a strong rock n’ roll beat without leaving behind The 69 Eyes musical identity, always underlined by their singer, Jyrki’s trademark voice.  In the end it is nice to know that even though some people are reluctant to musical change in the bands they love, they are a step ahead of us and always ready to grow and change without losing themselves to what the rest of the world thinks.   Therefore, they continue to be at the top of my list!  Rock on Helsinki Vampires, for you were never Angels!

Official website: www.69eyes.com
Croatian website: www.the69-eyes.com

Review: Nerissa Alison