'Memento Mori'
Fredrik
Croon already has an impressive resume that boasts industrial and
aggrotech acts such as Menschdefekt,Project Rotten and Cynical
Existence. However, this time around he's gone in a slightly
different direction, dropping the heavily distorted vocals of his
previous work, and embracing a cleaner singing style. 'Memento Mori'
is an album that leans heavily on the melodic and emotional elements
of genres like futurepop and synthpop, while still embracing the dark
electro and metal influences of his previous work, in a blend he has
christened Aggropop.
The
result is a more diverse and and varied approach that pushes his
skills as a songwriter into new and interesting directions. There are
still dark elements bubbling away below the surface and the odd
heavier embellishment, but overall this is a richer and more melodic
style that retains a solid dance appeal and feels more well rounded
that the unfettered aggression of previous projects.
Songs
such as 'Into The Shadows', 'Mine', 'Ashes From The Past', 'A New
Dawn', 'The Day I Died', 'Rise Again, and 'When all Is Said And Done'
give the album a solid back bone of dance beats, trance-like
melodies, airy textures and clean that definitely play up on the pop
element of his self-christened sound. Yet tracks like 'Bleed For Me',
'Regret', and 'It's Over' with their darker tones and harsher vocals
provide a nice heavy counterpart and link back to his previous works.
In
terms of production the album definitely captures more of the
polished 'pop' feel than the heavier offerings in Croona's previous
projects. It's still hits hard where it needs to and even the
instrumental tracks maintain a compelling edge despite their dance
floor focus. It effectively switches between the dark, heavy elements
and the more melodic and leaves the album feeling nicely balanced.
This
is a strong outing from Croona and it's definitely something he
should build on, playing with the nature of his new aggropop style
and seeing how far he can push it in every direction. Hopefully there
will be much more in the near future.