Hey Rosetta! — Into Your Lungs (And Around In Your Heart And On Through Your Blood)

While Hey Rosetta!'s Plan Your Escape was a strong debut, Into Your Lungs… is much, much better. The six-minute-plus quiet tracks which broke Plan Your Escape's flow have been replaced here by more focused tunes along the lines of the last record's "Lions For Scottie." The mandolin-tinged opener "New Goodbye" will probably grab you right away, and the Edge-ish, angular riff on the bridge to "I've Been Asleep For A Long, Long Time" will also catch your attention. "There's An Arc" builds from a quiet introduction and eventually explodes into a shower of staccato guitar parts and other instrumentation, demonstrating a good understanding of the importance of tension and release in music. Inevitably, Tim Baker's earnest vocals and Hey Rosetta!'s use of violin and other orchestration will result in Arcade Fire comparisons, and there are times (like on "Red Heart") where the resemblance is kind of uncanny. That's a small complaint, though, and Into Your Lungs… demonstrates significant musical growth.