Pale - 'How To Survive Chance' (Defiance)
4/5
By: Thomas Hannan
So this is what they're up to in Germany. Out of fair Cologne (no, admittedly hardly the first place you'd pinpoint as a likely source of alternative magic) have sprung Pale. In actual fact, they did it quite a while ago, this being their third full-length to date. True, it is a shame we didn't latch on earlier, but let's not wallow in regret; all we've done is given Pale the opportunity to hone down this talent quite successfully. Seemingly, this work is pretty much the finished article.
'How To Survive Chance' is accomplished, for sure. Varied? You better believe it. But on first glance, it also seems a little confused; what are they giving us here? Is it an out-an-out emo album, rich in heated melody and flowing with ideas? Or a charming, little pop record, happy and carefree, some light relaxation? Furthermore, when exactly will it make up its mind..?
Musically, what seems to be the plan is to have a little battle between these two factions. If it's all getting a bit much, stick a sax solo on there. If the melody's becoming a little too predictable, a strange spoken-word breakdown and floating beeps will sort out that little conundrum. All of this over tunes so infectious, you'll instantly swear you have heard them a million times before.
There's a sprinkling of tracks here that are just unarguably fabulous. 'Goodbye Trouble' sets things off by making you think you're in for a straightforward if momentarily brilliant guitar album, but it's efforts such as 'Sometimes Somewhere' that throw a spanner into such a scheme; brilliantly cheerful, incessantly catchy and no, to be honest we weren't expecting that brass part either... Works rather nicely though doesn't it?
Other compositions work purely because of the context in which they're placed. On its own, 'Karaoke Queen' could become slightly irritating with time (especially seeing as singer Holger Kochs can't seem to pronounce the word 'karaoke'), but placing this jaunty, brass-laden number amongst so much intelligent mastery momentarily ensures that Pale come across as slightly cheeky geniuses, inventors of their own new genre. 'Post-oompah' will do nicely.
Elsewhere, apart from being splattered with charming instrumentals here and there, it starts to become really impressive just when it seems the album has run it's course. There's no doubt the listener is left on a high - this is indeed some very touching, often uplifting music. What it needs to be truly stunning is to extend on this formula just that little bit more. Where 'How To Survive Chance' can be uplifting at times and sobering others, it never fully reaches the peaks and troughs of these emotions that turn a good album into a great one; some more guts here, some more heart there... it may sound akin to some form of gruesome butchery, but it could well be the missing piece of a slightly confused Pale jigsaw.
Not to say that this isn't a pretty remarkable picture as it is. While their sentiments may revolve around chance, the consistent quality of the record should lead to a fate of much more concrete success. And so, will it indeed survive chance? No doubt about it.
Artists in this article: Pale
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