The Birthday Massacre
Pathways
Metropolis Records
Since their debut in 2002 Canadian rock act The Birthday Massacre have stuck to the promise of their earliest recordings, maintaining their dreamy, popsmart sound across a catalogue that is now some ten albums deep. While the band, still centered around founding trio of Chibi Taylor, Michael Falcore and Michael Rainbow has modulated their sound in various ways over time, they’ve never abandoned their defining aesthetics of dark fantasy.
The question at the heart of The Birthday Massacre’s new LP Pathways is whether a band that has existed for more than a quarter of a century can still conjure the same sense of youthful wonderment and reverie. One the one hand, they sound as slick and neon-glossy as ever, pulling off radio-ready pop-rock cuts like “Wish” characteristic poise. Vintage TBM, its big chorus built up from the hook introduced in the opening moments, and is adorned with tasteful synths and Chibi’s always charismatic vocal presence. That number along with a few other cuts (the charging title track, and the melancholic closer “Cruel Love”) are the kind of easy, fun, and above all catchy songs that band has never lost a knack for.
On the other hand, there’s a sense that the band are casting around for something different to do with themselves, with some puzzling results. “Sleep Tonight” brings back the downtuned riffing of the mid-period records, but it mostly ends up weighing the song’s melody down, its hook lost in a sea of guitar. Elsewhere on “Whisper” Chibi uses a growling delivery in contrast with her normal clarion vocal style, a choice that isn’t out of step with the plodding alt rock of the song, but doesn’t really gel with TBM’s characteristic sparkle and shine. The band have always had one foot in heavier sounds, but most of the record’s harder tracks feel like they would have worked better without the chug.
Pathways is roughly on par with The Birthday Massacre’s contemporary records, and has a few gems that speak to the songwriting and presentation that have always been their strengths. For a band of their vintage to still be able to do that effectively is certainly nothing to scoff at, and longtime fans will no doubt find some new favorites for their playlists and live singalongs.
Thank you for this review. I have been a fan of The Birthday Massacre since the last 20 years. This new album is definitely more guitar-heavy and maybe a bit muddy production than “Fascination”, but at the same time it feels like that exact TBM that we all love, with catchy melodies, atmosphere, and somehow I even hear that naivety that reminds me of their debut “Nothing and nowhere”. And regarding the growl – it is nothing unusual, they have such songs from time to time. It is like that legendary song “Blue” from the album “Violet”. This is the moments when their spookiness turns into horror. And on the new album the song “Wisper” is actually one of my favourites.