Album Analysis: Revolution Roulette
Ladies and gentlemen, the Poets of the Fall.
Like most people in America, I became familiar with this Finnish rock band through Max Payne 2′s “The Late Goodbye.” Unlike (I imagine) most people in America, I shelled out over $40 US to actually get a copy of the single shipped to me… it’s a long story, but suffice it to say that I’m immeasurably grateful that they’ve started selling in the US. I love the band, yes, but it gets really, really tiring to keep importing albums from countries using the Euro… especially in this economy (better than countries that use the pound yet, but still).
The Poets may have been introduced to the US through Late Goodbye, but they quickly began producing new albums and singles – Signs of Life and Carnival of Rust both feature beautiful songs, and their music videos are unusual, but still oddly compelling (to be blunt, I think their weakest video is for The Ultimate Fling, but the gimmick to that video explains it – it was directed, indirectly, by the fans, and so fails to include the sort of trippy images that make the videos for Lift and Carnival of Rust so compelling.) If you haven’t listened to the Poets before… well, there’s no need to continue depriving yourself! I’ll wait here while you catch up – I recommend you start with Diamonds for Tears, then Lift, then move on to Carnival of Rust and Locking Up the Sun.
I’ve always had two favorite elements to the Poets – the first was their imagery, the songscapes they would create and the often surreal worlds made by their lyrics. The other was the way they would blend harder-edged songs (Lift, Psychosis, and Sorry-Go-Round) with softer, more haunting pieces (3 AM, Where Do We Draw the Line, and Carnival of Rust). Well, while some people have said that Revolution Roulette was a weaker offering than their prior albums… I can’t disagree more. Personally, I think it’s the strongest, and a Hell of a place for the beginning listener to pick up the band.
That’s why I’m going to open up a new little series here – I’m going through each of the songs on Revolution Roulette, from my favorites to my least favorites, and having a brief discussion on the meaning, quality, and effectiveness of each track. These are all strictly my opinions, and not backed in any way by the PotF themselves. If I actually got out of a song what they put into it… that’s wonderful. If not, well, I’d like to hear other opinions! I’ll be covering one song a week until we’re through the album – I hope to be publishing on Tuesdays.
So, come back here on Tuesday to see what I have to say about the Poet’s… More.
