After spending a year wading outside the music spotlight and parting ways with label 679, the Futureheads treaded back to the scene with their latest effort, This is Not the World, released on their own label, Nul Records. The question is, did the changes help them? The answer: kind of. Yes, This is Not the World is much more polished than their previous self-titled release but the UK outfit traded their jagged, calculated marches for even sharper but a lot poppier, yet darker refrains (“Sale of the Century,” “The Beginning of the Twist,” “Sleet”). They’re still great - their rhythms are still strong and danceable but their music is not as unique as it once was (just check out “Everything’s Changing Today” and Radio Heart”). With This is Not the World, the Futureheads has now become every English band we’ve heard before. So yea, kind of.
--Annamarya Scaccia [June 25, 2008]
