AMOR VINCIT OMNIA

Having been enraptured by The Dark Third, I was extremely wary of Pure Reason Revolution's vastly different follow-up, Amor Vincit Omnia. Having all but abandoned their space rock foundation and building off of an electro-rock one, this new album was certainly going to generate mixed responses and, having listened to some rather unmemorable samples on the band's MySpace page, I wasn't even sure if it would get any positive ones.

But let me tell you, folks, while on first listen I was extremely disappointed, I decided to set it down for a couple of months and try again. And boy, am I glad I did! In fact, I find Amor Vincit Omnia to be so wonderful, that I barely listen to The Dark Third anymore. The songs on this album seem a lot more personal and emotion-ridden, which may or may not be a result of the lyrical subject this time around (that subject being love). Of course, us sentient beings can attach ourselves to songs about love and lust, and us intellectual beings can attach ourselves to clever recurring themes and varied song structures. The vocals and riffs are more melodic and memorable here, the sound packs more of a punch too. So when the band hits, they hit hard, really hard. They also use modern technology to their advantage. Vocoders and sound manipulation are implemented in fun ways and we even have an epic dance party toward the end.

I'm out of time, so let's just say that this album is fantastic. It's both fun and powerful, which is something that few bands are capable of or interested in doing these days.