The Finns celebrate their 20-year career so far with their tenth album, which is less heavy, more pop, catchy and very good within the gothic spirit that the band serves since day one.
“X” is dipped into melancholy, which actually makes it intriguing, while its dark shades go through every track on the album. I can’t say that I was happy that the songs are on a mid, or even slow tempo, when I first listened to the album, but after a few spins I realized their gloomy beauty. “X” is a mature album, totally characteristic of the band’s career. It’s less immediate, and “easy” than the triad “Devils” – “Angels” – “Back In Blood”, that gave the Finns the most airplay in their career, but it’s even more qualitative composition-wise. Actually, one of the highlights is the ultimate gothic ballad, “Borderline”, that has a lot to do with Southern Rock, as well as… Elvis Presley.
In a very cleverly balanced album the opener “Love Runs Away” stands out galloping, while it surely creates the wrong impression of what’s going to happen, which of course is more submitting with “Tonight”, and “Black”. Finally, one more attribute of “X” is how quickly the songs stick to your brain, which of course is another proof of how well the songs were crafted, and how good an album it is.
