Tokio Hotel - Darkside Of The Sun

"Hello, we're still standing here"

Tokio Hotel's second English-language album comes out next Tuesday and I honestly didn't care one way or another until I heard the fantastic single Automatic. I've always admired these guys' style more than their music, but that could change soon. They've adopted a slightly dancier sound for Humanoid, and on some tracks it works amazingly. An early highlight is Darkside Of The Sun, which has some great, aggressive industrial verses that are probably the catchiest thing on the album. THIS is the sound these guys should be aiming for, because it is very, very fun (although, to be fair, "fun" probably isn't really what they're going for). It reminds me quite a bit of when Orgy covered Blue Monday about a decade or so ago. This is better, though--more energy.

(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. If you like what you hear, support the artists. Preorder the album here. Follow me on twitter at nickajames)