Customer Reviews

Walking with Strangers

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I first discovered The Birthday Massacre a few years ago on a Cleopatra Records compilation which featured their song "Video Kid". I was immediately hooked on the band's fusion of punk rock, new wave, and gothic music. Their second album VIOLET became one of my all time favorite albums. Who else could make music so addictively melodic without losing their street credibility? Just The Birthday Massacre.

WALKING WITH STRANGERS is the band's newest effort. The album picks up where VIOLET left off. While on VIOLET there were a couple of tracks that I really wasn't wild about, WALKING WITH STRANGERS is immaculate. I loved every song on the entire album. Every song is chockful of powerpop melodies that will make you want to get up and dance, and soaring vocals by Chibi. The production on the album is perfect. It is clean yet not overly polished. The integrity of the songs are left intact. There is a definite raw element in the band's sound through out the entire album. One of the standout tracks on the album is "Red Stars" which opens up with aggressive guitar riffs reminiscent of some of today's heavy metal bands. It kinda threw me off but Chibi's intoxicating, polished vocals tempers the guitars riffs and creates a nice balance. My other favorite songs includes the infectious "Weekend" and the haunting "Movie". When I first heard "Movie", I totally wasn't expecting to hear a ballad. The song had a nice atmospheric sound which sent chills down my spine.

WALKING WITH STRANGERS is forty-nine minutes long. It left me hungry for more but that is okay with me. The band is doing something right if they leave me wanting more than being bored or dissatisfied with an album that is too long. I rank this album as one of the top five albums of 2007, if not the top of my best of 2007 list. For TBM fans, the wait is over. This album is worth owning.

A lot of good albums have been released this year, but none have I waited for with an overwhelming mix of anticipation and impatience than this new release by TBM. I first heard TBM summer of 2005, and ever since I have been looking forward to another release. I had picked up Violet just by mere curiosity. I had been listening to a lot of metal/goth like Theatre of Tragedy, Tristania, Sirenia, etc. and wanted something a little more "light-hearted," yet still somewhat dark and mysterious. And that is exactly what I found with TBM.

This is TBM third release and it stays true to their trademark sound. This album could be called Violet Volume 2, but this is in no way a bad thing. The songs on this album are great and original, but the general sound is the same. It seems in the past couple of years, a great deal of my favorite bands have been releasing new albums, I go buy it and play it, and say "Who is this?" Some change their sound for better, some for worse, but sometimes it's nice to buy an album expecting to hear a certain sound you have fallen in love with and that album delivers it. IMO, TBM do not need any "maturing" of their sound or going in a "different direction." If you have listened to Violet and Nothing and Nowhere, you can buy this album with confidence in what you'd expect to hear.

With all that said, the album starts off with Kill The Lights, which the group actually released early this year through MySpace and their webpage. It is a great song and a great sample of what is to come. Goodnight, Falling Down, Looking Glass, Science, Walking with Strangers, and Weekend are the more upbeat portion of the album, while Movie, Remember Me, To Die For, Red Stars and Unfamiliar are the down tempo songs. To Die For was my favorite track from Nothing and Nowhere and I was happy to see it ended up on this album. I had heard a rough mix of Remember Me, and this polished up version is great.

I have tried to find other artists similar to TBM, but let me spare you the trouble by telling you, there are none! If you love TBM, just buy all 3 of their albums and that will be all you need.

Favorite tracks: Looking Glass, Red Stars, Unfamiliar, Falling Down

Ok so picked up Violet a while ago thinking 'hmm...probably will end up being another want-to-be Evanescence.' Boy was I wrong! Since then, Violet has become the most played CD in my collection and my favorite by far. There is something so haunting and beautiful when Chibi sings those lyrics with the guys playing behind her.

However, Walking With Strangers has taken that title of 'favorite'. This CD is The Birthday Massacre perfection. Exactly what I had been hoping and waiting for in eager anticipation. What I enjoy the most is how each of TBM's songs flow into each other and they clearly know how to set up a disk. Over all they went with a slightly 'darker/deeper' sound (Chibi's vocals are in a deeper range) and it is awesome!

Kill The Lights- 10/10, this song is just lovely! It starts of slow and builds slowly into a one that makes you want to move with the music.

Goodnight- 10/10 Another great song...Chibi's voice is deeper in this song, very different in a good way :) I love the chorus.

Falling Down- 9/10 It's a good song, a great song, but not a particular favorite of mine.

Unfamiliar- 12/10 This is my FAVORITE song on the album, it is soft and sweet yet hard...sends shivers up and down my spine every time I hear it. I love it...can't wait to hear it live.

Red Stars- 10/10 Heard this one leaked by accident...blew me away. It is so different yet so TBM...must have replayed it a good 500 times before the CD released.

Looking Glass- 10/10 Another leaked track I heard before...it is one of their more playful tunes. Bouncy yet still 'TBM' kind of dark...

Science- 10/10 Good song that continues the 'bouncy' side of TBM...

Remember Me- 10/10 Was surprised and ecstatic to find out the did remixes of two older songs, both favorites. This version is just as good as the old one.

To Die For- 11/10 My second favorite song, was my favorite before. This version is actually better than the original! It is deeper and heavier and makes the song better.

Walking With Strangers- 9/10 Another good song, not anything out of the ordinary for TBM. Chibi is a bit higher with her voice a few parts on this song, sounds like an 'older' song.

Weekend- 10/10 This one sounds like it should have been released back in the 80's. Yes I know TBM is full of 80's sound but this one in particular...sounds like it should be old :)

Movie- 10/10 A slow song, beautiful and Chibi is gorgeous here! Her voice just shines. A song you can feel every emotion as she takes you along through the journey.

Over all the CD is just perfect. I would recommend it to everyone and anyone. Forget Evanescence, they are mediocre at best (yes I do listen to Amy and her band btw) but if you want a great female fronted 'rock' band get The Birthday Massacre. They do not disappoint!

I first got into TBM through their cover of "The Neverending Story", and immediately loved them because of how dreamy their music was. Their songs had an ethereal, magical sound to them. Chibi's voice was not overly prominent like in most bands, I loved how her words could barely be heard at times. It just added to the mysterious atmosphere that was created.

However, I feel like every time they remix one of their songs or put out something new, they're losing their touch. Their songs don't sound magical anymore. They've brought Chibi's voice more to the front, and all the instruments get lost in the background. Their music is not getting worse, just going in a different direction (which kind of disappoints me, I was completely smitten with their previous style).

Kill the Lights, Goodnight, Unfamiliar, and Red Stars all remind me of how TBM used to sound. They have a dark atmosphere and beautiful, climactic choruses. Unfamiliar and Red Stars are my favorite tracks on this album. Falling Down, Science, Remember Me, Looking Glass, and Weekend are going more in the generic rock direction. Science is easily the least memorable song on the album, it's absolutely boring. Parts of Looking Glass sound vaguely familiar, and I have a feeling they recycled parts of another song of theirs. Movie is completely different from all the other songs, it reminds me of an 80s ballad or something. I do like it, though.

Walking with Strangers and To Die For are my least favorite songs. Walking with Strangers just sounds weird coming from TBM, I have no idea why they titled the album after this song. And as for To Die For, I cannot tell you how much I HATE this version of it. The original was perfect. PERFECT. There was absolutely no reason to change it AT ALL. It lost all the personality and beauty it once had. What used to sound like humming now sounds like an impression of a wolf howling at the moon. I can appreciate that Chibi has changed the way she sings, but honestly, in this version she sounds tired of singing the words. I'm reminded of how they also ruined other perfect song of theirs, The Dream. First version was astonishing. New version (on Violet) was terrible. These are my two favorite TBM songs and it's extremely disappointing how much they've been editted for the worse.

I suppose it sounds like I'm bashing this album, but I don't mean to. It isn't a bad album, it's just different, which is a good thing for bands because if they always sounded the same they'd be boring. For me personally this is the one exception, because for years TBM was the absolutely perfect band in the universe in my eyes... and now they're changing, and becoming different from the band I loved. Ah well. Unfamiliar and Red Stars made it worth buying.

I thought The Birthday Massacre were more popular than that. I continue to be amazed at how few people have heard of this band. Coming from a musician's perspective, and as a fan of 90's modern music(which is what they most sound like), this is one of the only quality bands playing today. They are still a little rough around the edges, but their songs are great, they totally rock, they don't sound like anyone else, and their bombastic instrumentation is such a welcome sound when all else one hears around town is neutered, overly introspective whiny un-rock. I think The Birthday Massacre gets short shrift because they are young and look like they are sponsored by Hot Topic, but that is something I love about them. It's endearing and sweet, and they back it up because they can play, and they can rock. They are probably stuck on a line between "scenester" credibility and mainstream success. I think mainstream success would be preferable.

Which is strange as its kind of its own type really.

The negative reviews have some points about the individual components being similar to other artists / bands, but don't let that fog the simple fact that the artists that evoke those "individual components" do nothing but that in their songs while Birthday Massacre is able to combine them all, add their own pieces, and make an awesome album out of it all.

I guess my recommendation to a potential buyer would be to just listen to the samples on the site. If it sounds generic, you probably just aren't into this sound (which is cool).

For me, its anything but generic (if admittedly a bit pop-ish) and I've listened to it darn near non-stop since I got it.

Very good album, but not quite to the level of the previous one.

As always, they have great effects and such, but this seems like they kind of forced this album out and that it didn't have the same edge that the first one had.

The Birthday Massacre, import extraordinaire and now sire of three albums (Nothing and Nowhere, Violet, and Walking with Strangers), has been touring for some time to pick up a fanbase and is finally starting getting recognition for their good audio deeds. They managed acclaim for their video of Violet and because the female vocals didn't change when singing took place outside the studio. Having gone and seen them live I was impressed by the feeling they brought to the proverbial table as they played with the crowd, and hearing them debut Red Stars and a few other newer songs (Kill the Lights, Looking Glass) showed just what direction they were going in. The direction was a good one, too, and seemed to travel in the same direction The Birthday Massacre had traveled before. Much of it sounded like the tracks that did not make it from Nothing and Nowhere to Violet (if you haven't tried those out you really should), with less of a dark sound and more introspection attached.
After a few rotations of the album a few weeks later, I was really pleased with what I had found.

Before continuing, I have to say that I really did miss some of the darker songs initially and it biased my opinion at first. Happy Birthday had been one of my favorite songs, and Violet had also been one of those endeared unto me. Chibi has a beautiful voice, though, and listening to Red Stars softened the blow a little and other songs like Science began to grow on me. Kill the Lights and Weekend also made the list and, by the third listen, I saw that this album measured up in ways that Violet didn't.
That isn't to say anything bad about Violet at all but to instead say that the preconceived notions I carried as to what the album should be hurt my overall view.

If you like The Birthday Massacre and give the album a chance, this will really grow on you. It is a bit different and it is something that you might not expect but it will nonetheless find you. If you did not like the first Birthday Massacre album you might like this one as well, with the transition of sounds leaving a little bit of something for anyone. It has a good beat, female vocals that are really worth trying out, and a range of sounds that move up and down the spectrum.
If you need more convincing because you are unsure about the buy, you can check out the samples provided by Metropolis-records.com or on the official Birthday Massacre website.
Beautiful work.

I think I've waited my entire life for this album. I don't hate a single song on it and it's one of the few "3rd" albums that manages to pull all the elements together from the previous efforts and make one outstanding piece of art. I don't agree with their latest rendition of To Die For - I believe that the "Nothing and Nowhere" version was superior. However, the remaining tracks are all stellar, at least on the first listen. After about two weeks, Science, Kill the Lights and Falling Down began to wear out faster than the remainder of the CD. I think, for me, that this is largely the result of the fact that they are calmer tracks, while the more upbeat songs began to hold more of my interest. Among the faster songs, Walking With Strangers, Weekend, and Looking Glass are my picks. But, the song that sold me was Red Stars. I don't know why. The chorus is what holds me the most, after the clean breakdown before closing the song with the main riff.

The departures from the previous two albums are Remember Me (though there seems to be a demo floating around somewhere, it is NOT on the previous full-length releases) and Movie. Remember Me reminds me of a song by Systematic called Glass Jaw from their "Somewhere in Between" album. That's not a detraction, it's a compliment. Suitably melancholy, with a moody, angsty feel. Movie is an 80s ballad that, with the appropriate title, calls up the feeling from Molly Ringwald movies (to me it stays with the concept of Nevermind at the end of "Violet").

There is no one like TBM making music right now, and I sincerely hope that the copy cats stay away. The sound is still fresh and TBM continues to evolve. Even their production is evolving. While "Nothing and Nowhere" had a slightly unfinished, unpolished sound and "Violet" was more polished, but much more macabre and moody, this album is much more sharply produced. It sounds "cleaner", because the effects are still there, but they don't saturate the landscape as on the previous two albums. It's a change, not for better or worse, in my opinion, but definitely noticeable. I do kind of miss the effects saturated sound of "Violet" which was tighter and cleaner than "Nothing and Nowhere", because "Walking With Strangers" is almost Spartan in comparison. Effects are "focused" in the new album.

If you're a fan of TBM, don't miss out. You'll appreciate some of the changes, I'm sure, and you will likely be disappointed in others, but take it for what it is: a focused amalgamation of the previous two albums.
It's not a repeat, because even the songs that sound familiar have a different, pop-dance leaning; it's a progression while maintaining their roots. Hard to do, but I believe that they've done it, and I don't think that my title is out of line considering that belief. Enjoy.

For those of you who loved the CD Nothing and Nowhere or Violet, this one is definitely the one for you! Check it out, and get it now! The synthrock is amazing, I love the way everything sounds together. Can't believe someone rated this CD one star. It's definitely a 5/5