The Sounds “Weekend”

This is the fifth album by The Sounds in a career which has impressively continued over two decades now. During that time, there has been something of a transition from punk to a more electronic influenced sound. In many ways, they have developed in to an almost cult band loved by their fans but sadly ignored by the commercial masses.

Opener “Shake Shake Shake” shows the electronic influences are still there, loud and proud, but the punk rock roots are also still present. A lot of this is driven by the vocals of Maja Ivarsson, who retains that passionate delivery more associated with a rock sound. We get to see that rebellious feel again on “Outlaw” which is an upbeat rocker that is perhaps closer to the sound on their earlier albums.

“Take It The Wrong Way” adds an almost disco sound and represents the band at their best, with a mix of a punk/indie inspired approach to what could be a dance song. Whilst “Hurt The Ones I Love” has more of a ‘pop’ feel to it and this is the one which could seriously get some mainstream radio play. This is especially true when you get to the anthemic sounding chorus. The pop twist is also added to “Animal” which is a fun sounding song to encourage the listener to sing and dance. It provides a double header with “Emperor” which will keep you clapping along with what could be a brilliant indie dance floor filler.

You would expect the title track, “Weekend”, to be one of their most up tempo numbers, but in contrast it’s a slower, more introspective, song. On the other hand “Great Day” sounds more like what you would expect from the title. It’s a return to the indie pop sound with a surprising banjo (?!?) sound underneath it all.

The second half of the album in particular, has a more light hearted feel, as demonstrated by the final track, “Young & Wild”. With it’s ‘put your hands up in the air, we are young and wild’ refrain, being perfectly suited to audience participation at a gig.

The Sounds have reached a point where they have really nailed their sound and you kind of know what to expect from their releases. Many of the songs are like dance tunes played by an indie punk band, which is great for fans of both genres. However, they really should have called the album Friday Night, rather than weekend. It has the feel of a perfect album to put on, to sing and dance along to, as you get ready to go out and tear up the night.