DAYS OF FATE TRAFFIC ALBUM RABAZCO RELEASE: MARCH 27, 2006 REVIEW: MAY 16, 2007

Days of Fate began as a second rate synthpop combo, constructing electronic sounds without soul and with an expiration date of five minutes. I have yet to figure out what kind of musical reconstructive surgery the members went through in order to rise above their own mediocrity on their second album "Home-made Cake of the Day". It is very rare to hear such a significant improvement between albums.

So, you can imagine my expectations for the release of "Traffic". And indeed, a new transformation has sweeped through the Days of Fate camp. It spells rock. The limited use of guitars on "Home-made Cake of the Day" was merely a step towards the more commercial sound on "Traffic". It is a move that works here and there, the gritty "Lonely People" shows us a new, pleasant side of the band, but in the long run it exhausts them. They are trying so hard to attract a larger fan base that they forgot what made them unique in the first place.

Nothing on "Traffic" falls flat, but then again there are also few moments that manage to wake you from the ever present mainstream slumber. There is potential written on the wall, but it is shamefully squandered here.

NIKLAS FORSBERG