When I got ahold of Wisdom of Crowds, the collaboration album from Bruce Soord with Jonas Renske, I knew it was an album that would require plenty of concentration and attention. After all, the former is from UK prog rock band The Pineapple Thief and the latter is the singer of Katatonia, one of my favorite bands. It meant that when I hit ‘Play’, I needed to give this album my all and truly focus. But was it worth that effort? Find out below.

Haunting reverbed guitars open the album on “Pleasure” while sinister low-end rumbles, growling like some agitated creature about to unleash itself. Renske’s vocals are played with, echoed and harmonized during call-and-response sequences. Suddenly pure piano chords ring out over the staccato drums, bringing a sense of heavenly light into this mix only to be pushed aside by overdriven guitars. An almost Spanish finger picked arpeggiated guitar run brings about the ending. Tracks like this are the stuff of engineers and studio mad wizards dreams.

“Wisdom Of Crowds” has an almost Portishead feel about it, playing gently with trip-hop elements and blues-infused guitar solos. “Frozen North”, which has been out for a while now, is still as fascinating and entertaining as it was before. The full version adds elements of slight rawness, giving this album an organic, human feel.

“The Light” opens ominously, pulsating low-end rumbling in the distance. The song ultimately transforms into something rather fascinating, as it becomes a track that, with a bit of remixing, could end up being a huge dance club hit. There is an almost dubstep attitude to this song yet it doesn’t fall to the go-to “Transformers having sex” sounds that are so popular these days.

The “dance club” feel continues with “Pretend”, which, while mixing touches of metal, doesn’t hit industrial. It almost feels as though it is the next step in the evolution of the genre. “Stacked Naked” feels like something out of the 80’s, one of those sweet, romantic songs that would be used in a John Hughes film.

It’s obvious that Bruce Soord had a grand design in place with Wisdom Of Crowds as the ideas run aplenty. The album has tracks that will satisfy listeners of many different genres while still opening doors to new music that they might not have dared enter before. Still, the issue here is that there is a sense that this album is a bit scattered and, while having a consistent tone, the shifts in musical styles might turn some off.

The Final Word: Not without its flaws, Wisdom Of Crowds is still a gorgeous, engaging album that satisfied many of my wants and needs. Should the collaboration of Bruce Soord with Jonas Renske continue, I will be very excited to see what comes next.

Got any thoughts/questions/concerns for Jonathan Barkan? Shoot him a message on Twitter or on Bloody-Disgusting!

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Also below is a edited version of the full length track “Frozen North”. The song can be downloaded for free here.

Wisdowm Of Crowds will be released June 3rd via Kscope Records. The album can be pre-ordered here.

Got any thoughts/questions/concerns for Jonathan Barkan? Shoot him a message on Twitter or on Bloody-Disgusting!

The post Bruce Soord (The Pineapple Thief) With Jonas Renkse (Katatonia) Post Teaser Of New Track appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

It was recently announced that The Pineapple Thief frontman Bruce Soord has teamed up with Katatonia singer Jonas Renske to release an album entitled Wisdom Of Crowds. More details on that can be found here.

Got any thoughts/questions/concerns for Jonathan Barkan? Shoot him a message on Twitter or on Bloody-Disgusting!

The post The Pineapple Thief Release Music Video For “Someone Pull Me Out Of Here” appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

While I haven’t listened to a ton of The Pineapple Thief, I know that I’ve heard enough to like them a lot. As for Katatonia, I’ve been a fan of theirs for about ten years now, so this is just a pure treat for me. I cannot wait to get my hands on this.

Wisdom Of Crowds track list:
Pleasure
Wisdom Of Crowds
Radio Star
Frozen North
The Light
Stacked Naked Pretend
Centre Of Gravity
Flows Through You

Got any thoughts/questions/concerns for Jonathan Barkan? Shoot him a message on Twitter or on Bloody-Disgusting!

The post Katatonia’s Jonas Renske Joins Forces With The Pineapple Thief’s Bruce Soord For Wisdom Of Crowds appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.