Architecture in Helsinki，是来自澳大利亚的六人乐团，成立于2000年。所有乐队成员都会好几种乐器，因此在他们的音乐中安排了大量的乐器演奏或效果。除了常见的一些乐器外，还能在其中发现单簧管，铁琴，低音大喇叭等等，听起来又觉得带了一点的民族风味。他们同时擅长多种现代声响合成操作，像 analog synthesizers，samplers。Places Like This是他们的第三张专辑，曲目多数是活泼跃动，带着古怪气氛的，与封面乾净素雅的感觉大相径庭，也跟他们名字一样，与芬兰赫尔辛基好像也难扯上关系by Heather PharesArchitecture in Helsinki have never been afraid of taking risks. The octet made a radical change from its first album to its second, trading the spare, sweet sonics of Fingers Crossed for the brilliant collision of sounds and melodies on In Case We Die. The band attempts another dramatic switch on Places Like This, diving into brash, bold indie-dance without looking back. Unfortunately, this time their fearlessness doesn't pay off: not only is Places Like This not as musically satisfying as Architecture in Helsinki's previous albums, it lacks a lot of their trademark charm and is often downright annoying. Considering that the band didn't have problems making cute, danceable songs like Do the Whirlwind in the past, exactly what went wrong and why so much of Places Like This sounds like bad remixes of good Architecture in Helsinki songs is hard to pinpoint. However, one of the reasons this album is a sharp downgrade from the rest of the band's work is easy to hear: Helsinki's lead Architect Cameron Bird seems to have had a vocal transplant, singing with an abrasive, pseudo-funky growl instead of his usual whispery tenor. Actually, Bird's vocals were an acquired taste to begin with, but now listeners have to get used to them all over again, and his new style might be a deal-breaker for some. He grunts, bellows, and shouts on Hold Music, adopts a shrieky falsetto on Debbie, and just generally sounds obnoxious for most of the album, which is a shame, since there are some interesting things going on underneath Bird's blowhard vocals. Lazy (Lazy) balances Afro-pop-inspired verses with noisy, distorted choruses, while Heart It Races flirts with island rhythms and sunny steel drums. There are also a few moments on Places Like This where the music actually outshines the unfortunate singing, as on Feather in a Baseball Cap, which boasts fascinatingly busy layers of brass, guitar, and synth textures, and Same Old Innocence, a slice of good-natured dance-punk that may be Architecture in Helsinki's most straightforwardly accessible song yet. Along with the shift in sound, the band's attitude also takes a disappointing turn on Places Like This. Fingers Crossed and In Case We Die had an organic joy, but Architecture in Helsinki try to make Places Like This a nonstop party, and the constant, in-your-face glee of songs like Red Turned White and Underwater could turn even the most well-adjusted listener into a Grinch. There are a couple of standouts here -- Like It or Not could be a cross between It'5! and the Cure's bizarrely cheerful moments, while Nothing's Wrong shows what the rest of the album should've sounded like -- but most of Places Like This is a mystifying misfire, made all the more perplexing by how successful Architecture in Helsinki's flights of fancy had been up to this point.