The Birthday Massacre have always been an interesting band. Fusing bubblegum pop with heavy industrial riffs, and playful synths; they had their own sound unique to all the other female fronted goth bands. They have now released their fourth album, Pins and Needles, which safely follows the winning formula the band discovered in 2005 with their second album, Violet. Unfortunately, there is nothing new to discover with this album, but still an album that will be enjoyed.
The fourth offering of The Birthday Massacre, Pins and Needles, was highly anticipated, but unfortunately a bit of a let down. No one likes it when a band does a complete 360 with their sound and are nothing like their previous releases. But, a little bit of variety is always nice. Pins and Needles, however, offers little variety, and sounds almost too similar to The Birthday Massacre's back catalogue.
That being said though, the album is still really quite good. It may not provide a great evolution of sound, but it is what fans expect, and love. Following suit with their previous releases, there are a few break away tracks on this record. Of course the title track stands out from the pack, as clearly the heaviest of the album. It is disappointing though that the intro sounds almost identical to that of Red Stars; the stand out track of their 2007 album, Walking With Strangers.
Another great track on the album is Control. As an album, Pins and Needles, has lost the fun horror, psychotic innocence feel, but it is dominating on Control. This is the only track that utilises distortion on Chibi's vocals, making her sound possessed; creating a dark, horror mood to the music. Sleepwalking is also a really good track, being probably some of the fastest guitar work seen from The Birthday Massacre.
Despite the less than nice things that have been said about the album, it still is a good album and great addition to The Birthday Massacre's discography. Pins and Needles may not differ from what we've heard before, but it will definitely please their current fan base. Their sound made them into what they are today, so I guess it does make sense to not want to divert from that. And although they stick to that sound, they play it hard and well. This album is filled with Chibi's fun vocals, the innocent yet evil lyrics, playful synths and heavy riffs. Any fan of The Birthday Massacre will want to have this album.
Christine Caruana - My name is Christine, I am an aspiring music journalist. I am currently a writer for Loud Australia Magazine where so far I have ...
