We Are Serenades - "Criminal Heaven"

Artist: We Are Serenades
Album: Criminal Heaven
Label: Cherrytree/Interscope
Release Date: April 17^th, 2012
Review by: Sean Kayden

I’ve always been a fan of the Swedish indie-pop band, Shout Out Louds. So when I heard frontman Adam Olenius was teaming up with Markus Krunegard form the band Laakso to form a side-project, I expressed much interest. The duo has created the music entity, We Are Serenades. Both artists share vocal duties, which give the debut record, “Criminal Heaven” a great balance. While these Sweden natives already have a lot of experience as musicians, it was safe to remain hopeful this new project would be solid. For all intents and purposes, “Criminal Heaven” is pure springtime bliss, but even within spring, the forecast isn’t always consistent with utter beauty.

We Are Serenades hone their joyful sound to the utmost degree. However, the band is at their finest when they’re not slowing down the tempo into boring lullabies. “Birds,” the second track off the album, is a downright terrific pop tune. With lush melodies, a mellifluous sound arrangement, and harmonious vocals, “Birds” is not only the best song off the album, but one of the better pop songs of 2012. “Come Home,” which reminds me the most of Shout Out Louds, has this 80s background flair with a touch of twangy guitar riffs that simultaneously and surprisingly work well together. “Oceans,” another lasting gem, is buoyant and uplifting. We Are Serenades often do sound absolutely great. Despite some tremendous songs presented here, the mishaps do occur. “Daydreaming” is a slog that is quite monotonous. To give it some credit, it does display a very soft side to We Are Serenades, but it interrupts the record’s lively tempo. The title track is another one that just sucks the life out of not the only album, but the listener. I understand the allure to make songs like this because they try to touch your heart, but unfortunately they’re just coming off maudlin and uninspiring. “Weapons” is a song that inexplicably feels out of place, but it’s quirky and tons of fun. It comes as a surprise and while it may not feel an authentic part to the record, it stands alone as a true dark horse type of song.

All in all, the debut is a satisfying listen in spite of some less-than-stellar tracks. Olenius and Krunegard’s vocals are often in unison and the blending of their two voices makes for a truly distinctive vocal resonance all itself. “Criminal Heaven” is not life changing, but an exceedingly fine pop record. Once again, under the radar pop rock is still better than what the mainstream affair has to offer. “Criminal Heaven” may not spin heads or rock the boat too much, but its existence is worth looking into if you’re feeling a little gloomy during these days.

Key Tracks: “Birds”, “Come Home”, “Oceans”
Grade: 7.0 out of 10

Published by Mountain Views News on April 28th, 2012
http://mtnviewsnews.com/v06/htm/n17/p09.htm