The Sounds — Dying To Say This To You

Growth's usually a good thing in music, but it's kind of a shame in the case of The Sounds. Their debut, Living In America, was so solid that it seemed the band had discovered the key to making perfect '80s-flavoured synth pop. Messing with that formula makes for an uneven follow-up. Attempts to make their sound rougher and faster ("Song With A Mission") or softer and slower ("Night After Night") fall flat, while the choppy "Tony The Beast" doesn't find its way until the more Sounds-like chorus kicks in. The infectious duet, "Don't Want To Hurt You," mixes things up without losing the original magic, but the album's best moments come when the band don't try to change.

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