THE ECHOING GREEN THE WINTER OF OUR DISCONTENT ALBUM A DIFFERENT DRUM RELEASE: APRIL, 2003 REVIEW: JUNE 2, 2003

Joey Belville is one of the driving forces behind the American synthpop scene of today and his combo The Echoing Green has been going at it for over ten years now. Originally mixing rock and synths their sound has grown into what we hear today. Diverse, forceful emotionally charged pop, driven by multilayered electronics and Joey's almost rock-styled vocals.
I really liked "Music from the Ocean Picture" and enjoy "The Winter of Our Discontent" as well. I don't understand why many fans frowned upon the single "Fall Awake". It may be a bit rougher around the edges and somewhat gloomier than usual, but I just thought it added to the band's creativity. It is not representative of the album overall so exhale, please. It is quite a mixture of ideas and sounds, actually, with the foundation in what they always been good at. Strongly arranged, catchy songs and powerful singing (yes, Chrissy Franklin provides vocals on this one too). It makes for an interesting album, surely, but it's not all balm for the soul. For some indefinable reason I find myself thinking of other things while listening. Maybe it's just my exam paper deadline that is plaguing me. Or maybe The Echoing Green just don't hold water all the way through. Nag nag... This is still pleasurable enough to keep them on my "will always get their stuff"-list.

NIKLAS FORSBERG