The Rasmus
Rise – Playground Music
Ok, don’t listen to the music for a minute – listen to this little story instead. Covid wasn’t kind to The Rasmus. The band were in different countries, trying to create their tenth studio album, and having a tough time of it. So much so, this album was initially called ‘Nightdivision’. But then things got better. The Rasmus wrote massively popular ‘Jezebel’ with which they represented Finland in Eurovision 2022. They were joined by a new guitarist who helped them up their game. The record we are now going to listen to was renamed ‘Rise’. How uplifting is that? Right, so, ‘Live And Never Die’ is the first track on the album, and is a massive dose of positivity. Similarly, title track ‘Rise’ is four minutes of encouragement to get the hell back up, and tune-wise is unmistakeably The Rasmus. ‘Fireflies’ has an alternative style vibe, fuelled by choppy riffs and looping beats. The slower songs give us plenty to think about and plenty to enjoy. ‘Rise’ is an old school album – every song has a place and a point. Each is an independent piece of work in its own right, and slots together nicely with the rest of the record. Can you believe ‘In The Shadows’ was released in 2003??? For a band to still be releasing good stuff like ‘Rise’ twenty years later is pretty impressive.
The Rasmus – Facebook
Review by Jo Wright