SO MUCH CRITICS: our team I our criteria I our other I

:: REVIEWS ::   

album: Serena Maneesh
artist: Serena Maneesh
label: Play Louder / 2006
score: 90 < click to learn more

by Tim Mathiesen

This Norwegian band brings listeners back to the album, Loveless, by My Bloody Valentine, although, this album is arguably better. I understand that there are many who would disagree with me, and maybe I feel this way because I didn't grow up with Loveless. Serena Maneesh may not be influencing an entire generation of songwriters, but they are taking a few different styles of music and building them off of the sound of Loveless. It all comes down to the definition of "better." Is it the influencer who came up with the idea or the influencee who builds off of the original idea and takes it one step further?

If we look at each project without the history, I personally think this album is better than Loveless. The variety and creativity within this album along with the layers of sound and arrangements is incredible. The shoegazer style of music as the foundation is built upon with grunge, goth, atmospheric rock, and metal. On top of the artistic creativity and musical talent, Serena Maneesh also has a confidence that demands attention and respect. It's not an arrogant confidence, instead it's a confidence that one earns after a lot of experience, and the experience is very evident in the quality of this album.