Soundtrack of Our Lives

After years of struggling to find a North American distributor, Sweden's the Soundtrack of Our Lives has finally been given a chance to deliver their exciting brand of rock'n'roll. All three of their full-lengths have been simultaneously released, meaning there is a lot of music to absorb here. Their 1996 debut album, Welcome to the Infant Freebase, is almost too much rock for most people. With 20 songs at over 70 minutes, this record is an amazing look at how powerful music can be. TSOOL take every great rock band from the past and present and use them as a tool to display their talents. There is the anthemic, Guided By Voices "Instant Repeater '99," the Strawberry Fields-ish "Embryonic Rendezvous," the Who's R&B "Blow My Cool" and the "Paint It Black"-isms of "Magic Muslims." On their 1998 follow-up, Extended Revelation, TSOOL chose to focus on a mellower psychedelic pop approach. There are a lot more acoustic tracks ("So Far"), some upbeat foot-stompers ("Safety Operation") and even some tender moments ("Love Song #3105"). It's a deeper, more serious approach to songwriting, but shows their musicianship has improved immensely. TSOOL's new album, Behind The Music, came out earlier this year in Europe and is probably their strongest and most positive effort yet. From the pounding drums of opener "Intra Riot," you can sense the band wants this album to be heard by millions. Using some of the rawness of their debut and the intimacy of their second album, Behind... dazzles with uplifting moments, like the inspirational "Mind The Gap" and the energetic "21st Century Rip Off." Making music for years, TSOOL is a band that sweats, bleeds and pisses rock'n'roll. Now, it's time for them to wreak havoc on our ears.