The Argonaut

Issue date: 3/27/08 Section: Entertainment

Don't be misled by their name. Architecture in Helsinki has as much to do with the buildings of Finland as Britney Spears has to do with sobriety. The band, a danceable noise pop sextet, hails from the land down under and these Aussies do not disappoint.

AIH released their junior effort, Places Like This, last summer, and it's been a consistent favorite for months.

AIH is known for an eclectic sound that incorporates every instrument they have laid hands on. Saxophones and trumpets whittle out a place among synthesized piano melodies, furious and addictive drum beats (with a healthy dose of cymbals), a nice fistful of good old-fashioned bass and guitar, as well as the highly underrated hand clap.

This is all layered like a neon-colored wedding cake alongside the dual efforts of AIH's wonderful leads, Cameron Bird and Kellie Sutherland.

Live, the six members of the band play at least twenty instruments, collectively, and sometimes manage to play them all at once - whistles in mouths, one hand on the keyboard, another on the synthetic drum set, and with a guitar strapped to their back for a quick change of pace.

Now add in some of the most creative lyrics around - lyrics like in the triumphant love song, Nothing's Wrong.

"We'll speak in the garden/You'll burn down the trees/I'll leave out the teasing/While you are down on one knee" - and I think you'll agree that AIH is a fantastic band. That is, you will once you get past the initial discomfort of getting used to their sound.

Yes, it's true that AIH may not seem like your kind of music at first, but I predict that, after a few listens, you'll be singing their praises like the diehard fan I know you are. To be honest, I didn't necessarily click with their unique sound right off either.

What really caught my attention the first time I heard AIH was the energy. It's hard not to notice the pure joy that the band gets out of making music, which shows in every falsetto lyric and synth beat.

Just listening to songs like Heart It Races or Hold Music - two of the standout tracks off of Places Like This - makes you think of caffeinated three year-olds in a room full of trampolines and bouncy balls. I might go as far as to say that it makes you wish you were a caffeinated three year-old, just so you could dance to the sweet sounds of AIH in public without looking utterly insane.

Of course, if you don't know what I'm talking about, I urge you to pick up a copy of Architecture in Helsinki's Places Like This." Fans of Junior Senior, YACHT, or The New Pornographers will quickly fall in love.

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