THE CARNATION "Human Universals "

01. Label slaves
02. Thursday’s kid
03. Roses are red
04. Jesus saves
05. Fall II
06. Easy come, easy go
07. War poetry
08. Where’s the violence?
09. A simple case of hate
10. These words don’t lie
11. You may raise your fist
12. Say those things to me
13. On the losing end

     On ”Human Universals” The Carnation are leaving their new wave-infected sound for something rather different. While the harsh vocal delivery remains intact in places, the overall impression of the album is one of development. With the inclusion of synthesizers, dance grooves and Christian Bergman’s melancholic-psychedelic slide guitar parts the band has certainly come a long way since their debut with “Gothenburg Rifle Association”.
The new record begins in a stylish way with the delayed drums of soul-pop effort “Label slaves”, before the punky guitar and bass of “Thursday’s kid” kicks in. These are followed by a list of songs that combines anger, hate and frustration with political awareness and hope for the future. When singer Eric Obo barks about terrace aggro in “Where’s the violence?”, it’s actually hard not to believe him. After a staggering 42 minutes the final chord of the 13th and last song “On the losing end” fades out and the listener is guaranteed to have been affected in some way or another.

THE CARNATION "Gothenburg Rifle Association"

01. Should have seen it coming
02. It's over
03. No one does it better
04. Brand new order
05. This is the time
06. Resembling an angel
07. New sensation
08. Can't get enough
09. No other way
10. Better face it
11. You're always there when you need me
12. Hold on

     With their full length debut ”Gothenburg Rifle Association”, the five gentlemen in The Carnation show beyond any doubt that they are capable of writing classy pop tunes that will stand the test of time. Of course, one tends to find loads of references popping up while enjoying the album’s twelve tracks, but the final result is totally The Carnation’s own. The Swedes seems to master many different musical genres, from haunting rock paranoia in the opening track to the straightfoward pop of the single “New sensation”, right down to the mellow nostalgia of dreamy ballad “No other way”. This pared with the fact that the band has three talented vocalists will prevent the listener from ever losing interest. Holding this diverse piece together is strength of the melodies and a very British feel, making the punkier numbers sound more like The Libertines than The Strokes. Which is a good thing.