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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.

In Case We Die
by Architecture In Helsinki


8.3

based on 26 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 31 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album

Places Like This

Official Artist Site

Imagine the Arcade Fire dosed with happy pills, stocked with toy instruments and forced to score a musical about the 1980s, and you may start getting close to the idea of this eight-piece co-ed band from Melbourne, Australia. This second album follows recent tours with the likes of Death Cab For Cutie, David Byrne and Belle And Sebastian.

LABEL:	Bar None
RELEASE DATE:	12 April 2005
DISCS:	1 disc
GENRE(S):	Indie, Rock

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Stylus Magazine

Like Blueberry Boat, this is a triumphant album of good bits.

All Music Guide

Everything on In Case We Die, from the intensely sweet melodies and vocals to the widescreen production, delivers the kind of playful pop majesty that Fingers Crossed's best moments hinted were within Architecture in Helsinki's grasp.

PopMatters

[A] freedom to push things to extremes is what makes In Case We Die such a thrill ride.

Pitchfork

Armed with more ideas than should probably be legal, Architecture in Helsinki can't be bothered to dwell for too long on any one of them, and it's this fickle nature that will make you either adore them or deplore them.

Entertainment Weekly

If the Muppets were ever to make a chamber-pop record, it would probably sound like this. [22 Apr 2005, p.64]

Junkmedia

Even the most hardened, poker-faced purists will crack a smile at AIH's ridiculously catchy, hook-riddled dance-pop.

New Musical Express

At its most euphoric, 'In Case We Die' is reminiscent of the cast of South Park forming a Polyphonic Spree tribute band after an all-night feast of sugarcubes and E numbers. [13 Aug 2005, p.58]

Trouser Press

Architecture in Helsinki's penchant for simple, driven melodies and gentle, nurturing jam sessions underscore one essential truth about this type of glossy, polyrhythmic music: the thin, bittersweet textures are always anchored to a syncopated bass line.

ShakingThrough.net

Stylistically, In Case We Die is like a Jackson Pollock drip painting, chaotic and bustling.

cokemachineglow

Think what you want about its theatricality, its twee --- at base, it’s a technically accomplished album, and if you’re willing to give yourself over to it, or do lots of drugs, a charming ride.

Splendid

It's all very sweeping, operatic and inviting.

Dusted Magazine

Architecture in Helsinki delivers complex, dynamic composition and arrangement in a package that, while not universally digestible, is entertaining for all.

Lost At Sea

Cinematic and purposefully clumsy, coy and cutesy and sprawling in intermittence, this is music to prance to.

Prefix Magazine

The free-for-all collective sound can lend the music a cutesy air, but the intensity of the songs rescues the album from juvenility.

Billboard

Sometimes this all-inclusive attitude falls flat, like on the trading male-female vocals of "Tiny Paintings" or the collective shouting that is littered throughout. Yet when everyone harmonizes together on "Maybe You Can Owe Me" and "Do the Whirlwind" it sounds unforced.

Paste Magazine

Delicate despite being epic. [Aug/Sep 2005, p.130]

Magnet

Full of ideas as well as joyful energy. [#68, p.86]

Playlouder

Home recording gives 'In Case We Die' an apathetic politeness that lacks any real grrrrr, which is a shame.

Drowned In Sound

Part pep rally, part school-time innocence, In Case We Die is nothing if not full of life and enthusiasm.

Mojo

Garishly attractive. [Oct 2005, p.98]

Under The Radar

While the general feeling of each song is sort of all over the place, there is a feeling of cohesion thanks to smart instrumentation and overall unconventional arrangements. [#9]

Uncut

Though straining at times under its rhapsodic pretensions, at its best it's an ambitious symphonic spree. [Oct 2005, p.100]

Rolling Stone

These tracks employ a familiar strategy, piling up shambolic riffs and Belle and Sebastian murmurs until the homespun pitter-patter rolls like a wave and approximates hard-won beauty. [24 Mar 2005, p.79]

Dot Music

For the most part, "In Case We Die" tries so hard to be fun it is almost no fun at all.

Tiny Mix Tapes

It sounds like a cross between Off the Wall-era Michael Jackson without the soul, the Banana Splits, the Grease soundtrack and shitty disco records.

Spin

Spastically twee, painfully saccharine. [Jun 2005, p.108]

The average user rating for this album is 8.3 (out of 10) based on 31 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

calvin hobbes gave it a10:
One of my last favourite albums. And I think it will play for a long time on my dj sets.

Nick gave it a10:
Possibly the best album of 2005. Fingers Crossed, they're debut, was slept on and is even incredibler in a humble opinion. This albumn is so dynamic and pure. I am very suprised and some of the low rating it has received. Its baffling really. Architecture's music is the kind of music I imagine in heaven. Even if it isn't universally accepted I would defend it to the death. Absolutely amazing (live experience is awesomest). "The be-the beat"

Josh gave it an8:
I don't really understand how anyone could give this less than a 7. It just makes no sense. Kinda like how I don't get anyone giving Blueberry Boat less than 85... just wrong, ya know?

Luis J gave it a9:
Excellent album, beautifull songs

clap your hands gave it a9:
One of the most imaginative albums I've heard!!! I don’t mind their "abuse" of sugar because I think the band is totally self-conscious about that. So, absolutely delicious! I specially like how the songs don’t stop to develop and change till the end.

luigi m gave it a9:
listening to this record makes feel happier

DietVanillaMack gave it a9:
A wholly remakable album, which you'll appreciate all the more if you get to see them live. It's so much more than cutesy pop; I don't know where to start. The most ambitious and complex arrangements around right now. The Spin "review" is just plain lazy.

In Case We Die by Architecture In Helsinki

In Case We Die
by Architecture In Helsinki