Album Review: Laurenne/Louhimo - Falling Through Stars

Sometimes, you'll hear people say 'two is better than one'. That is not a truism, and music proves it to us on a regular basis. There has been a string of albums in recent years pairing rock and metal vocalists, apparently on the assumption that having two singers somehow makes things better than if there's only one. I don't quite understand why that would be the case, since they can still only sing the songs they are given. If those aren't all that great, no amount of vocal prowess is going to be able to overcome that. At least that's how I think, but I've been reminded many times that pretty much no one thinks about things the way I do.

The first pairing of Netta Laurenne and Noora Louhimo was an example of this conceit done well. That record had plenty of great songs and great vocals, and sits comfortably in the better lot of melodic metal albums that have come through the glut in recent years. There was still one glaring flaw, but we'll address that in a moment. I wanted to set the stage by remembering that these two have already succeeded in this endeavor.

That brings us to the follow-up, which does not reach those same heights at any moment. This record leaves behind many of the melodic metal flourishes for a more modern and rhythm focused approach, which is exactly why Laurenne's band Smackbound also disappointed me the last time I heard them.

As I mentioned, these albums still need great songs, and they aren't provided here. With the two great voices on hand, they need showcase moments where they can belt beautiful melodies. Those don't come as often, with choppier lines taking up much of the space for hooks in the heavier songs, and they don't grab my attention in nearly same way. The songs themselves aren't consistently the greatest, but then we add in another layers that holds the album back from being what it could be.

That would be the very nature of this pairing. These collaborations work best when we get two distinct voices that bring different elements to the performance. That isn't the case here, as Netta and Noora's voices, while great, are quite similar. With their tones delivering the same sound and feeling, it begs the question why we need to have both of them here. The only real reason is for the moments when their voices blend together, but even those fail to make the impact they should, because the production of the album doesn't put their vocals quite high enough in the mix for them to shine as they should. The same way true of the first record, where they often blended so much it felt like one voice, but those songs were engaging enough to overcome the way the vocals were mishandled. This record might have a slightly better mix, but the issue is not resolved entirely.

All of that adds up to an album that depends on perspective. Taken on its own, it's a decent melodic metal album that has enough going for it to be enjoyable. But if you heard the first album, this one becomes a disappointment that they couldn't find the same spark a second time.

That's where I find myself, as the entire time I couldn't stop thinking about their song "Hurricane Love", and wondering why nothing on this record was even coming close to matching that power. Oh, how I wish it did.