The sophomore long-player under the
INVSN
moniker from the Swedish art-rockers formerly known as
Lost Patrol
,
The Beautiful Stories
sees the
Dennis Lyxzen
-led troupe delivering a fervent blast of anthemic post-punk that invokes names like
Killing Joke
X
Joy Division
, and
Siouxsie and the Banshees
. The ex-
(International) Noise Conspiracy
and
Refused
frontman, who is joined by
Sara Almgren
(also a
Noise Conspiracy
expatriate),
Kristina Karlsson
(
Tiger Forest Cat
),
Anders Stenberg
Lykke Li
Deportees
), and
Andre Sandstrom
DS-13
), delivers a consistently engaging seven-track set that's light on humor and heavy on apocalyptic grandeur.
Lyxzen
Almgren
make for compelling dual-vocalists, with the former channeling nervy desperation and the latter toeing the line between siren sweet and outright feral. Stacked with boomy walls of percussion, icy synths, and twangy, reverb-drenched guitars, immediate standouts like "Immer Zu," "This Constant War," and "I Dreamt Music" impress with their sheer sonic might, but the band isn't above flirting with more traditional pop architectures, as evidenced by the lush "Distance," which borrows liberally from
Disintegration
-era
Cure
. ~ James Christopher Monger