As a life long music junkie I think I’ve heard more bands in ten years than the average music consumer will listen to in their lifetime. Bold statement, I know. But the fact is that the majority of music consumers listen to either mostly mainstream music or whatever it was they got into when they were young and they tend to stick with that. The tragedy with both is that the best music is the stuff you aren’t hearing about, Music that blows any mainstream artist out of the water. The Birthday Massacre are one of many examples of bands I preach to people about like a missionary who just won’t take no for an answer, I’m passionate about this band and they are singularly unique and very gifted.
Imagine if you were to put in a musical blender Stabbing Westward, The Cure, Depeche Mode, Cyndi Lauper, Tiffany, and the soundtrack of A Nightmare On Elm Street and Legend, you might then have some idea of the sound of this band.
Over the course of 23 or so years they have released ten full length albums and two EP’s, All of them are very consistent and all are extremely good.
Pathways marks their eleventh full length album, In my review of their prior album Fascination I said that if I had one criticism of that otherwise great album it’s that it felt like an album that was them by the numbers. Up front I’m going to tell you that isn’t remotely the case with Pathways.
It’s not a massive departure, It definitely fits in their wheelhouse and the fans who particularly love their albums Superstition and Pins and Needles will especially be pleased. This album is a whole different monster than their prior album.
Heavy crunching riffs are accented by dark industrial beats as “Sleep Tonight” begins, The riffs recalling the heavier moments of their classic song “Blue” though much heavier on this track. The verses go straight into industrial beats as singer Chibi sings with her softer range before she gives the chorus more power, Chibi has a very beautiful and unique voice and I don’t feel she gets enough credit for that.
Gone on this track are the shimmering synths that is often their stock in trade, In their place are industrial whips that hit you like a tsunami and the vocals add the bright contrast to an otherwise wonderfully dark and heavy track. An unexpected but welcome way to begin the album.
“All Of You” only slightly lightens things up, This is still in their darker musical terrain, Heavy guitars meet seismic synths and a good driving drum beat, This song would fit seamlessly on their album Superstition.
“The Vanishing Game” shines through the darkness with a track that is unexpectedly much brighter, It’s still got enough crunch in the guitars to keep things from sounding too poppy. This song is a big contrast to the two that came before it, there’s a great bass line on this song that pulses behind the glistening synths and powerful riffs.
“Pathways” has a new wave vibe to it, I detect a little bit of Echo and The Bunnymen in the melody of this song, Chibi’s vocals are hypnotic on this song. The band is locked in very well on this song and everything works here, I doubt this will be a single but it’s definitely one of the best songs on the album.
“Whisper” sounds like something that would’ve been on their album Diamonds. Heavy powerful riffs meet ethereal synths and Chibi sings in her softer range but has moments of singing in her rarely heard heavier style.
“Wish” might be my favorite song on the album, This is another unexpected track that goes full 80’s new wave, This would’ve been a club banger back then. It will honestly be a tragedy if this one isn’t a single, it might not be fully representative of what fans are used to hearing from them to a certain extent, But this song is total ear candy. This one would make Tiffany and Martika proud.
“Faces” takes that high in the clouds feeling the last song had you feeling and reminds you this is a goth band and pulls you right back down like a dream transitioning to something darker. This is a slower tempo track but the rhythms are seductive and heavy, another great song.
“Cruel Love” ends the album and feels perfectly placed, This song is dark and dreamy. Like the closing credits to a gothic romance movie, Another song that would have fit well on Diamonds.
Despite being a short 33 minutes long The Birthday Massacre manage to make every second count, Pathways stands apart in being probably the most different sounding album they’ve done since Superstition. It still very much sounds like them but manages to stay fresh in a way that their prior album didn’t, Definitely don’t miss this album or this band for that matter.
8/10