For Strangers Only – Abel Raise The Cain (reviewed by Dave Franklin)

Pop and rock music can sometimes make uncomfortable bedfellows. Some might say that pop can water down the power of the rock delivery, others that rock brings too much baggage to the pop party. Some might say that, not I, and certainly not Abel Raise The Cain, a band who know the power of each genre and the massive potential in splicing them together in just the right way.

But it is much more than the usual juggling of melody and drive, grace and grit although all are present in no small amount. What takes this into far more interesting musical realms is their blending of drifting ambience and smoky resonance, which takes it away from the realms of the straight melodic punch of, say Even Nine and closer to the cosmic haze of Rogue Valley (Dark Side of The Street and Hideaway could indeed be a love letters to Minneapolis’ finest stargazers.)

Maybe, when you think every corner of the pop, rock and indie genres has been explored, extrapolated and manipulated it becomes less about pushing forward and more about looking within. Less about building new roads, more about deconstruction. Take the testosterone and cliché out of rock music; add some depth to the pop genre and side step the complicated hair and skinny jeaned fashion end of the Indie scene and you have all the necessary building blocks. Thankfully Abel Raise The Cain prove to be the most skilful of sonic architects.