After the phenomenal success of their debut album, with sales over 750,000 and the success of the mega hit 'Days Go By' (mainly thanks to the Mitsubishi adverts), Dirty Vegas return with a new guitar-orientated sound replacing their previous dance sampled synth efforts.

Bizarre, and risky, Dirty Vegas brave attempt at using 'Real' Instruments is unfortunately a dour and uninteresting affair.

The album starts off well enough, the progressive guitar and piano led 'Roses' is well done, illustrating their newly found rich, dense sound, unfortunately the vocals of Stephen Smith are really disappointing, with no real character. When the swash of strings appear on second track 'Home Again' the over production causes the song to sound sterile - we're talking a poor man's Simple Minds. Even the vocals are similar to Jim Kerr. At best the opening songs come across like a Savage Garden single.

The first single from the album “Walk Into The Sun” and “Human Love” both show better moments of the album, however they sound so similar they may as well be the same song.

Unfortunately Dirty Vegas have made dance music that just isn't danceable. Overall the album is a huge disappointment, vocally it is monotonous, the production is far too over glossed and the emotion portrayed is just too sterile. Perhaps they would be better off reverting back to their sound of old.
~T.J. Hart

3.

written by on 20/10/2004 00:00:00