New World

Lauri Ylönen

Reviewed by Enkeli

There is no use in comparing Lauri’s solo album with anything that The Rasmus has taken under, you’ll find nothing! But this is one of the greatest appeals which ‘New World’ offers.. it’s something totally new. In songs such as ‘Have a Little Mercy’ does still have the darker feeling lyrics like TR songs, however with the synthetic sounds and electropop beats it still stands out as Lauri’s own creation. Other styles of music include techno, house, and also very slow alternative and also some reflecting a little of Björk’s own creativeness.

I felt that ‘New World’ has its ups and downs, some singles really stood out making you want to dance and sing along (for example Disco-Nnect) and then others were rather boring leaving you to decide if you should sit through the song or fast-forward to the next (for example Hello). It is great that Lauri is testing out new things, feeling what new creative aspects come to mind and taking grasp, however maybe it isn’t album-worthy material or possibly something to continue playing around with. I believe (unlike many other reviewers) that Lauri’s English gets better every album that is released. People must remember that English is not his first language and thus pronunciation will never be perfect; however he does improve all the time.

There are a lot of stories being told on this album. Nearly every song has it’s own story which is being told. ‘Heavy’ the first single off the album definitely created a very colorful picture of someone who has it all and yet absolutely nothing, possibly trapped in because of their fame and wealth but unable to express their true selves. This is probably one of the most successful songs on his album in most people’s opinion. ‘Because of You’ I believe is written for Lauri’s son. At least that’s the only logical thing I can think of, which also could be the reason for a more upbeat album then the typical The Rasmus styles.

The last song on the album which also carries the same name, ‘New World’, in my opinion is both extremely good music wise, but lyric wise and voices it scares the living hell out of me. When first listening to this I was hoping to hear Lauri or just an instrumental but instead it’s a mechanical, computer generated voice. WHY?! The song had great potential and it was shot down instantly with the sound of the robot. The music is colorful and lively and just pure genious which was a good wrap up to the album. I just wish I could say something positive about the song as a whole.

Overall Lauri’s ‘New World’ was filled with contagious beats, tons of experimentation and lots of juicy stories. I wish more songs would stand out and really grab your attention. I highly suggest the songs ‘Disco-Nnect’, ‘Have a Little Mercy’ and ‘Because of You’. You can tell Lauri is definitely learning that he can be creative in different ways and it was great that this can be looked at as a ‘guinea pig’ album, and hopefully down the road somewhere he’ll make another one, but also one with The Rasmus. He is definitely growing as an individual as well. I would recommend this album to some extent. I feel the first half of the album was excellent and then after ‘You Don’t Remember My Name’ it just went downhill. As an overly huge The Rasmus fan this was an extremely difficult album review to make; trying to be fair and just but also giving my exact opinions and not being biased.

Have A Little Mercy

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Our Rating:

7.00/10

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