The Futureheads - This Is Not the World

Artist: The Futureheads
Album: This Is Not the World
Genre: Post-Punk Revival
Rating: 4 of 5


I have begun to notice, especially after this album, how much this Sunderland-based group sounds like an updated version of the Cars. The Futureheads have managed to take the good parts of the Cars and expanded on them.

Like the Cars there songs are full of punchy guitars and some great vocal melodies. Take a track like "Work Is Never Done" that has some quick and unrelenting power chords and the comparison is easy to make. If you still don't hear it then turn to "Sleet". The intro is so close to "Just What I Needed" that I was so pleasantly surprised.

The album, nor the Futureheads, are all about their resemblance to the Cars though. One of their biggest strengths since their first album has been their use of vocal harmonies. A good example of this is in the first track, "The Beginning of the Twist". In this album, they've also done a great job of tearing songs down to their minimum and then rebuilding the song from scratch. Again, "The Beginning of the Twist" is an excellent example but "Walking Backwards" is another great example.

The Futureheads are still improving and this album was a great addition to their repertoire. I can't wait to hear the next one.