Review Babylon Bombs - Babylon's Burning 2009

My first contact with this band came in the lovely year of 2006 as the bands first singel, called Hometown Hero, was played warm on the rock radio stations. The album 'Doin' You Nasty' that the singel came from was a nice acquaintance even for most that doesn't sleaze and find the hair rock as the historys best contribution to music. But since that album it's been pretty quiet about Babylon Bombs here in Sweden, I actually even thought they were disbanded untill they earlier this year made a sign of life with a teaser singel. Now here is the full-lenght album and the "Bombs men" has this time made an album that in many ways takes them away from the dirty and raw sound of the prequels. The first seconds of the album even starts with a string intro in best After Forever way, which makes at least me wonder that in the worlds name this actually is?

'Babylon's Burning' is a much more mature album, and better made. Sound-wise this is on a completely new level, musically the similarities however still are pretty big. This is still sleaze with screaming guitars that plays hard rock fast and simple - an album for the party or the car ride, if you ask me. A short summare of the album would be to say that this is Babylon Bombs mixed with high culture, it has some more bourgeoisie over it but in the end it's still the same kind of hard rock we heard three years ago.

The chorus repeats them selves over and over with their sticking lyrics sung in choirs, contributed by screaming guitar riffs. In best Ramones style the band also throws in some random counting to three here and there - I lose count of how many times and in how many songs they do this, but it's definitely more than three. The purpose? Don't ask, I wouldn't know but pherhaps some secred lost sleaze code (or symbol) that I wouldn't know about since I'm a Robert Langdon, not a sleazer.

In 45 minutes we can hear babylon burn and towards the end this feels like an eternity. The first half of the album flourish with energy and lust and a feeling that glows, but it's just layer after layer of layers until the tautology feels so repetitive that I don't want to know anything more about lingustics. The Bombs lose their Swedishnes and in this case, it wouldn't hurt to be a little more lagom with what they do. The album isn't bad, it's just to repetitive and I miss some variation - which was the case with the last album as well.

In the end, one can state that it doesn't matter if you're a little more high culture and throw in words like "graphonomics" and "revolutionary science" - a lizard is still a lizard no matter ho fancy clothes it wears. Babylon Bombs is one of those bands that I'll always enjoy listen to but that I don't listen to very often. It's fun for a while but when you sit an hour listening to the same kind of extended words, like "lo-ow" and "go-ow" and "kno-ow" and so one, or the same kind of screamy distortion on the screming guitars, regardless if they play harmonica, violin or anything else at the same time. And when every song is constructed from the same blueprints, regardless if they put wood or cement on the walls... No, it just loses all the potential it have.

The first of the songs is, no matter what, a really great track. And so is number ten. And most of the others too, but the album as a whole just leaves me with a 50/50 impression. It is good, but you should not look at your watch and wonder how long this album actually is when you hear a good album. And that is something I do with this one.

So, with all this said I'd like to thank Babylon Bombs for another good album, but please guys - try to find some more variationfor the upcoming albums. You make such good music, but no matter how great it is live, it's often the albums people start with and I feel they don't last in the long run today. It feels as the party is boring already after half an hour, and this party album should invite to more than that. Babylon Bombs today is simply put best in lagom doses.

HHHHHHH