I Am The World Trade Center

It just seems to be one thing after another for I Am The World Trade Center. Naturally, there’s that name, which nobody could have predicted was going to be so problematic. But just as the band was getting ready to release their new album, singer Amy Dykes was diagnosed with lymphatic cancer. That has put the band in limbo for the foreseeable future, but fortunately her treatment has been proceeding well. The Cover Up, their third album, is the inevitable record that every romantically-involved duo will face sooner or later — the break-up album. Yet this is the bitter, messy album that you might have expected, due in part to the sunny nature of the band’s pop music. Listen a little closer and some of the cynicism that follows love is revealed, and that helps to keep the saccharine feel that threatened their previous albums under control. Everything else about The Cover Up follows the classic IATWTC template, right down to the poppy take on a classic song. This time round, the Jam’s "Going Underground” has been turned into the album’s weakest moment because it feels too much like a novelty rather than a cohesive part of the record. Their synth-heavy sound appears to have moved forward in time, with an even dancier element, but apart from that it is just business as usual. That said The Cover Up is still the band’s strongest album to date, hinting that all they really needed was some good old fashioned conflict to produce their best work. Still, it would be nice if life could stop putting quite so many obstacles in their path.