Infadels: 'Universe In Reverse'

2005’s debut LP, ‘We Are Not The Infadels’, situated the band in a favorable position within the trendy dance rock cross over genre - their mix of guitars, upbeat dance rhythms and electronic sounds embraced the mainstream and received critical acclaim in equal measures.

Three years later and they return with the follow up, ‘Universe in Reverse’. This time around they have tried to move on from their electro/indie groundings with the songwriting including more elements from their live sound. There is still common ground between the two albums - now, however , the electronic elements are more geared towards a cinematic grandiose production, styled to enhance songs, which abstracted from such production devices would bare more resemblance to traditional pop rock songs. Under the guidance of producer Martin "Youth" Glover, the guitars are cranked to a more forceful position in the mix which gives the vibrant energy in the tracks a more conventional rock foundation in a manner not too dissimilar to Franz Ferdinand.

Whilst the band's desire to develop their sound and their refusal to let the praise of one album shape the rest of their career must be complimented, the development doesn’t instantly come across as progress. Admittedly there are now countless indie/electro bands on the scene to carry on their old direction, but I hesitate to call The Infadels' new sound as being particularly ground breaking and in many ways it is a safer bet than their old offerings. That is not to say they cant write songs; the title track, ‘Code 1’ and the final track ‘How To Disappear’ are all solid efforts that stand up well against any of their contemporaries. However, the rest of the album falls somewhat short of the benchmark set by their debut.

Released on 23rd June 2008 by Wall Of Sound.

Written by Andy Hirst.