Normally Drum n’ Bass is not my style of music, but I was tempted to give the album a listen to after some amazing performances at Download ‘09. Needless to stay, I was impressed by what these guys had to offer, contrary to my thoughts beforehand. My head wanted me to hate this album so much, but I cant. There are cracks of weakness though… Read on for more.

This being their second album, I couldnt get a hold of the first one, so I’m to a bad start already! The album comes alive with Show Down, starting off seemingly like alternative/indie music, with the usual loud and simple drum beat and the singer shouting his head off. Suddenly the drums build up and I instantly know its about to change into something completely different. Boom. A riff worthy of a great indie tune, but with the electronica bass and drums to contradict the statement. Theres no more lyrics hereafter, but it doesnt matter. Theres so much variety and changes during the song, you cant but help to bang your head with the ever evolving tune. The square drum beat helps to push the riffs onwards and upwards. Good start, Pendulum.

Different starts with a very Prodigy-like drum beat starting, but then the voice kicks in giving the indie feel to it once again. The guitar is slightly more involved here and helps set a dark tone, while the electronica bass does its thing again, revealing a triumph riff thats instantly catchy. Propane Nightmares, simply put, is truly a classic song. So much variety and excellent songwriting, this is Pendulums highlight, and no wonder its been such a hit this summer at the festivals. You know you’re expecting something as the irregular beat starts building up once again. One of the surprise songs of this decade no doubt.

Unforunately, all good things do come to an end. The rest of the album does let itself down a bit after a fantastic opening, with a below par Visions, while it has some good ideas, its just not as polished as the the rest. Midnight Runner sees them take a different approach and focus more on synthesizers on an intense, fast beat. It works vaguely, the singing just kills it altogther. A wasted opportunity with good ideas. The Other Side sets darker tone once more, as the song slowly starts off with some string symphonies, building up to and almighty blast of pipes, until it prematurely ends and disappoints the rest of the way through. The rest of the album is back to average joe drum n bass, nothing new, the same monotonous stuff over and over again.

So to recap… while Pendulum have hit the right note in places, they really need an album thats constant, rather than hitting the right notes for less than 1/3 of an album. The potential is there, just need to set aside some of those boring loops and invest in some new, brighter ideas. Could have been a classic, let down by their own undoing.

5/10