Rename - Culture Limited 2cd Edition

Disc One

Maybe Later I Will Fall
Something Painful Must Have Happened
Compromise Letter
You Don't Deserve My Love
Me Versus You
Heaven Forever
Walking Down The Streets
Everyone You Talk To
My Wonder (It Must Have Been Love 2004)
Stay (Don't Tell Me You'll Leave Me)
When I Have The Blues
Limelight
In Different Things

Disc Two

Twelve Seconds
Limelight (New 7" Disco Mix)
Pity For The Poet
I Want You
In Different Things (USA Club Mix)
Limelight (Roxy Mixshow)

This is the debut album for Rename, here released on A Different Drum Records and including a bonus disc with 6 additional tracks. Marcus Geltner handles the vocals, arrangement, production and keyboards for the band, while Toby Bartzsch handles guitars, keyboards and additional production. This album follows the single "You Don't Deserve My Love", an excellent release that set my expectations for this album very, very high.

Did it meet those expectations? Well... not exactly. There are some really wonderful new songs here, powerfully emotional and moving. "Something Painful Must Have Happened" and "Compromise Letter" are both very good songs that easily stand alongside the first and fourth tracks (which were both featured on the single). However, from then on the album becomes quite uneven. "Me Versus You" is spoken more than sung, and that plus a rather bland and sparse melody equals a song I don't see as a strong point of the album. "Heaven Forever" more than makes up for it, with a ballad that's simply brilliant. But the next two tracks are just about abysmal. "Walking Down The Streets" is vocally distorted and musically trance-enhanced to leave behind any possibility of a emotional connection. "Everyone You Talk To" is a song with a lot of potential, but it just doesn't flow well at all. It's too pop-oriented musically, but seems lyrically suited to a more EBM/Industrial musical approach. The remake of "It Must Of Been Love", with Rename's original chorus replacing the original, is superb. A really unique and refreshing take on a classic song. "Stay" and "When I Have The Blues" both suffer the same flaws as "Everyone You Talk To", seeming to have the potential to be good songs, but just fail to gel properly. Fortunately, two wonderful songs close out the album "Limelight" (which, admittedly, had to grow on me, but it's a very strong popsong!) and "In Different Things", a track which would make a stellar second single for this album.

The bonus disc includes 3 remixes and 3 tracks which were not on the original album. Frankly, after hearing this bonus disc, I'm wondering why some of these tracks were not swapped with some that were on the album. Now, admittedly, "Twelve Seconds" and the disco remix of "Limelight" are both quite disappointing. The disco remix in particular is a wretched butchering of a great song mutated in to a hideous distortion of it's former self. But both "Pity For The Poet" and "I Want You" seem much more album-worthy than "Walking Down The Streets" and "When I Have The Blues". Good songs, that are quite enjoyable, and I'm not sure why there were slated for the bonus disc. The closing two remixes take songs that were already oriented towards the dancefloor and cube that dance feeling. A excellent way to close out the disc.

Overall, this is a good synthpop release. It's not without flaws by any stretch of the imagination, but Rename shows a lot of talent and even more, potential to improve over time. This band obviously can write a number of outstanding pop songs. Now they just need to work on trimming the more marginal tracks, leaving only the best of the best for album #2....

Added:  Saturday, July 23, 2005
Reviewer:  Jason Baker
Score:
Related web link:  Official Website
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Language: eng