Finger Eleven - Life Turns Electric

On October 5th, 2010, the Canadian band Finger Eleven released their sixth album, Life Turns Electric, three years after the release of Them vs. You vs. Me in 2007. The band was originally named Rainbow Butt Monkeys.

This album has a very upbeat feel; danceable, even. The cheerful melody and harmony combination and the steady drum beats keeps the mood of the listener up there with the feeling of chocolate cake and a snow day.

The concepts of people accepting who they are and not changing appear quite a few times. The album opens with the determined-sounding Any Moment Now. Heavy, rhythmic guitar patterns and plenty of crash cymbals are complimented by Scott Anderson’s comparatively smooth vocal style. The song slows down just a bit near the end, only to pick up again for the finale.

Life Turns Electric keeps up a generally powerful feeling throughout the entire album. There are exceptions, of course, where the verses are much lighter. The steady beat keeps the energy of the album up in the air, making this album perfect for anyone who likes to move to their music. The strong bass line keeps the songs in check rhythmically. The melodies are perfect for singing along with.

However, every album has its down side, and Life Turns Electric’s comes in the form of Love’s What You Left Me With. It’s much slower and much messier than the other numbers. This is the song meant for stepping out of the room to grab a drink of water before the next one starts. The lead vocals are slightly blurred with the backing vocals. The drumming seems unrehearsed and unorganized.

The only real problem with Life Turns Electric is that all the songs are pretty much the same. With the exception of Love’s What You Left Me With, if you’ve heard one of the songs, you’ve heard them all. There are two types of songs on this album: the heavier ones and the lighter ones. It’s pretty much divided down the middle, the main difference being the lyrics. In fact, that seems to be the only difference between the new Living in a Dream and the old Paralyser; Not saying that Paralyser wasn’t a freakishly catchy song, but revamping it wasn’t really necessary.

All in all, Life Turns Electric is a pretty decent album. It is without a doubt better than Them vs. You vs. Me, but not nearly as good as it could have been.

[This album was given a rating of 6 out of 10]