Principles
"If"

The lead singer of the Principles was going through a shitty time! It was just the start of 2004, they had just released "Mind Erased" but still nothing seemed to be going right! Paranoia, pessimism, and a series of misfortunes hit him; fears and phobias were now in his mind. As usual, he began to vent all of this through writing music and lyrics! The problem remained this: to translate these bleak and pessimistic emotions into music that were born and grew during those months. He needed something without a soul, something cold and sterile. Voilà!!! Electronic music could solve all of this, and the massive listening to albums like Radiohead’s "Kid A" made its contribution. In July of the same year, "IF" was released, "IF" to bear witness to the indecisive and fragile soul, the tormented soul of those months.

The atmosphere in the album is saturated and the album results as very heavy to listen to, surpassing the limits of commerciality! In fact, IF is absolutely ANTI-COMMERCIAL!!! "Electrode/in code" is an electronic duel with the drums, expressionless voice, pounding rhythm. It gives a good morning to the listener's ear (and they say a good day is seen from the morning) "The Book Of The Destiny" has great lyrics but with the arrangement, it gets lost in useless and senseless musical frills, "Scared" is the most beautiful of the album and with excellent lyrics, it is the manifesto of the Principles' music: dark with elementary guitar arpeggios, full of echoes and reverbs. "The Spring Prisoner" where the Principles' guitarist gives her contribution to the album by writing one of her best melodies, however, this remains the most acoustic song of the album. "Bitter Sad Ballad" the title says it all, and anyway, this one distances itself from the electronic. It seems like one of those sad Britpop songs. "Panic Paranoic" is a mix between a song from Kid A and "Fitter Happier" by Radiohead. Then other noteworthy songs are the false jazz of "Get Drunk", the wonderfully simple and hypnotic "end summer sea", the petrifying (worthy of a horror movie) "Everything Ok", which plays with monstrous voices, and the last "Show Me The Way" a tight and bacchanal rock that leaves room for a "ghost track" entirely electronic and very relaxing, like new age stuff or chill-out things.

This album full of anguish is proof that the Principles still play with music. A score of 3 because it is, at times, unbearable precisely because of the themes it offers which become saturated and tiring. But the songwriting is always at an excellent level in the lyrics, and the music always offers us that simplicity and those elementary school notes, providing the contrast of distinctly challenging music with compositions made from elementary notes, silly arpeggios, and virtually non-existent chords.

p.s. Nice cover: a dead-end corridor with an anonymous neon!