The Sounds - Crossing The Rubicon

The Sounds are a Swedish New Wave band that are making an impact on the US.  At first listen, you might recognize, singer, Maja Ivarsson's voice.  She was featured in Cobra Starship's song "Snakes On A Plane (Bring It)".  Aside from that single, they recently toured with No Doubt and Paramore.  As you might have noticed, they're becoming a name to notice.  They released their third album, Crossing The Rubicon, in June of 2009 and have released two singles from it.

I'm a little late in discovering them.  Crossing The Rubicon is actually the bands third album, and my first.  The song "Dorchester Hotel" (featured on this album) was my first exposure to them.  Their music is filled with enough keyboards and synths to make the leading New Wave acts of the eighties jealous.  Almost every song has a solid synth line.

After a couple listens, there are definitely some stand-out tracks.  The first single "No One Sleeps When I'm Awake" is one of them.  The title track is also one of the best songs.  It starts with a very haunting piano which then evolves into a full blown epic, and then creeps back down again.  Although the song is short, that doesn't hold it back at all.  All together, some of the songs can be forgettable.  The second single, Beatbox, is actually one of my least favorite songs on the album.  It's just not as solid as it could be, they have great potential.

My favorite tracks at the moment include:

No One Sleeps When I'm Awake
Dorchester Hotel
Crossing The Rubicon
My Lover

You should check out The Sounds if you like No Doubt or Paramore.  I can definitely see why they teamed up for the tour.  Also listen if you want a throw-back to the New Wave genre.  Artists such as Blondie, Talking Heads, Cyndi Lauper, Berlin, and a-ha can be seen as influences.