Diablo Swing Orchestra’s (DSO) sophomore effort is another triumphant example of forward thinking stylistic fusion. Coming to us from Stockholm, Sweden this Avante Garde sextet packs influences from sources as varying as swing, classical, and metal into a single cohesive listening experience. Along with the guitars, bass, and drums standard to metal bands the members also employ cello, keyboards, and other traditional instruments in weaving their sonic tapestries. The vocal duties are performed by Daniel Håkansson who provides clean and occasionally harsh styles and Ann-Louice Lögdlund whose haunting operatic vocals make the album all the more memorable. In clearly atypical fashion the guitars are used primarily to provide rhythm for the album while the other instruments take most of the spotlight whether they are the cello, horns, or all so prominent vocals. The album is quite progressive; songs vary throughout and shifts consistently occur within individual songs.
All in all Sing Along Songs… is a very solid effort that is arguably even better than DSO’s masterful debut, The Butcher’s Ballroom, as the band seems more comfortable in their sound. This album provides such highlights as “A Tap Dancer\’s Dilemma” (a mid-tempo piece with some magnificent leads provided by horns throughout and the female vocals have an almost church choir like feel in some spots), “A Rancid Romance” (which tells the story of a doomed love affair in which the male and female vocalists take on the roles of a couple whose relationship is falling apart. The song creates an emotional atmosphere that is varyingly angry, bitter, or somewhat sad. The most frenzied bits occur when the song transforms into a turbulent back and forth between the two vocalists), and “Bedlam Sticks” (which introduces itself with instrumentation that sounds something like a demented carnival or jack-in-the-box and employs crunchy chug guitar riffs and frenzied shifting vocals which sound as though a mentally perturbed individual is having a dissociative episode); highly recommended for fans of unique and progressive music.
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