With only a few hints left of their artsy shoegazer-inspired past,
Secrets Are Sinister sees
Longwave continuing in the
U2 by way of
Snow Patrol vein of 2005's
There's a Fire and aiming directly for radio acceptance, this time without major label backing. This seeming grab for commercial acceptance may be paying off, as "The Devil and the Liar"'s shimmering instrumental opening soundtracks a Lubriderm commercial. Musically, the song is a dead ringer for their peers
Rogue Wave and likewise owes quite a debt to
Death Cab for Cutie. But as the song continues past what's heard in the commercial, it suffers from amateurish lyrics and a monotone performance from
Steve Schiltz, who seems to be doing his best hybridization of
Interpol's
Paul Banks and
James Mercer of
the Shins; at least the high-pitched humming works. Perhaps producer
Peter Katis suggested and milked the dour vocal and musical tone that permeates much of the album, as he's been a soundboard mastermind behind
Interpol and
the National's breakthroughs. Here, there's a sense that things are a bit too tidy and every edge seems polished to create a sense of bothered but shiny moroseness. It's good that there are frequent tonal shifts between tracks, between moody rockers and melancholic ballads, but it's nearly impossible to ignore the influences on display, particularly when the results feel like above-average but second-tier knockoffs of
Gary Lightbody's
Snow Patrol juggernaut.