LEB I SOL 2

Many folks (except at RateYourMusic) feel this second album is superior to the debut and I say "No Way!" I'll side with the RYM guys on this one. This album is a huge letdown after the brilliant debut. LebiSol's first album (see my review for a brief history) was a warm and charming piece of music. On the second album they apparently got bigger heads and decided they needed to be more sophisticated. So the arrangements are more complex I suppose, but in the process they have lost the charm that is all over that first album. I admit the second album has better sound due to the extra studio time they were given, but that's all it has over the debut. Perhaps it is similar to what happened with Finnforest. While I like all of their albums obviously, for many people the Finnforest debut is much more fun and the other two lost something as the music got more complex. The Lebisol debut had so much joy in the playing to compliment the bits of traditional music they include, on the second album they have given that up for a harder edge. My theory is that when a young band makes that first record they have all these tracks they've worked on for a few years, in many cases honing them live at tons of shows and knowing exactly what is needed when they get that chance at a record. Then, if they get to make a second, they are often trying to come up with next batch of material somewhat quickly, while under the gun of doing more shows, interviews, etc. The "sophmore jinx" theory? Who knows. There are still some good moments here though. The lead off track "Akupunktura" picks up right where Lebisol-1 left off with some big time shredding but even here the playing is not as inspired. "Aber Dojde Donke" is downright annoying, kind of like a 5-minute ending with one dramatic roll after another. You want it to just stop and it never does. The album's highlight is the excellent "Marija" which is an amazing instrumental that builds into a powerhouse finish, undeniably rocking. As if sensing perhaps that they left off some of the acoustic charm they tack on "Bonus" to the end, but even here they botch the attempt by leaving it hang there sounding half-finished. The tracks not mentioned are OK or average but not outstanding. The bottom line I guess is that I was not sold as much on the material here. The first album was so laid back and natural, so unforced. Here it sounds like they are out to prove something to someone-perhaps they did, but they also compromised some of the magic. Still enough to call good for sure, but for me a disappointment after the review I wrote yesterday.