Carpark North
All Things to All People

For once, I'm decisively changing my musical parish and trying to review something different from my usual listening habits. We all agree that friends' recommendations on listening to a specific CD should be taken with a grain of salt, but for once I can say I'm satisfied with the CD that was recommended to me.

The group of which I was unaware until that moment is Carpark North. A pop-rock band with electronic influences from Denmark, of which this "All Things To All People" is their second studio album.

It's certainly not my genre, but a song, "Human," captivated me right away even before listening to the CD, being an atypical piece for me with keyboards, electronics, and lively guitars in the choruses. So I decided to try and listen to the whole thing. I should mention (and I say this also for anyone wanting to listen to it, as they were suggested to me as a similar band to Depeche Mode) something that didn't excite me much since they aren't my cup of tea. Indeed, there's some scattered electronics throughout the CD.

The album consists of ten tracks, where various influences emerge. It opens with "Berlin," a melodic rock song supported by excellent keyboards and an engaging chorus, but the beauty of the song comes at the end when guitars with a decidedly heavy tone make their entrance. It continues with "Human," the shortest track on the CD, with an electro-punk style, in my opinion, the best episode. Just this song, which is also one of the singles, is decidedly original, even if it might give the impression that the band plays electro-punk, something that unfortunately (at least for me, who loves punk rock) isn't the case. This track accompanies a commercial that is sometimes broadcast on TV.

Moving forward and scrolling through the tracks, we find songs complete with solos like "Run," rock n' roll riffs alternated with electronic beats in "Newborn," and metallic nuances in "Song about us," the hardest track on the platter. As in every respectable pop-rock album, there are a couple of ballads such as "Fireworks," where acoustic and electric intertwine, dominated by an icy atmosphere, the more electronic "Rest," and the closing "Hearts of me," introduced by drums and a very fitting bass line, which will then characterize the track and close with a long melodic solo.

One of the singles, "Best day," is definitely a good pop song with electronic hints that heavily reference the '80s. Lastly, I'll mention the longest of the lot, "Hearts of me," with its six and a half minutes characterized by prolonged choruses in the bridge, which, however, suffers a bit from its length.

As far as I know, the CD is available in two versions, one of which I own and have discussed, and another with 12 songs which includes three tracks from the first album: the electronic and psychedelic "Transparent and glasslike," "Wild Wonders" with a romantic and melancholic melody (the best of the three) and "There's a place".

In conclusion, a good CD, which for its genre (considering what we are accustomed to hearing from certain bands) is not at all cliché and demonstrates the qualities and creativity of these Danish guys.