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The Soundtrack of Our Lives - Origin Vol. I (Universal)

With already a grandiose name, the Swedish sextet free themselves with each album to take any and every musical direction possible that one band can make. On their fourth album Origin Vol. I, the Soundtrack of Our Lives flex their muscle built on 3 years of touring while showing off more of their melodic side.

On 2002's Behind the Music, the band attracted increased attention after flying just under the radar with their two previous releases; Welcome to the Infant Freebase (1996) and Extended Revelation (1998). Just as their visiblity as grown so as the band's creative confidence since first forming, over 10 years ago, after the end of Union Carbide Productions, the foundation for which the band owes their current place. A key strength that has carried over to the Soundtrack of Our Lives is the ability to give a fresh take on a style from music's past. They have soaked up the best qualities of bands like Pink Floyd, the Stooges and MC5, and the Who to create sounds that may be familiar ground but are filled with an excitement that gives the music a new life.

What started as a double album has turned into Origin Vol. I, the straight-forward rock album, with the follow-up said to be more heavily acoustic. The band hit the right chord on Behind the Music with the song "Sister Surround," one of the band's finest singles thus far. Unfortunately they couldn't grab onto a new power chord to capture that magic of "Sister Surround" which was a major reason for setting off the buzz on their third album. Though it doesn't deminish the quality of Origin Vol. I the lack of that one fiery standout track leaves you looking for just a little more. It's almost as if "Sister Surround" was a tease.

That aside there remain a handful of songs that beam with aggression and attitude of all sorts. "Transcendental Suicide" is the epic tune that Pete Townshend could have written for the Who on Who's Next. On "Bigtime" and "Mother One Track Mind," the amps are on overdrive as the band simply bulldoze their way through anything in their path. Truly not a one dimensional band, the Soundtrack of Our Lives can structure melodies like the best of them. "Heading For A Breakdown" balances the collective backing vocals to drive the hooks yet maintains a punch so not to leave the song flat. Singer Ebbot Lundberg takes on the lounge lizard persona in "Midnight Children" while on the striking "Song For The Others" conveys a wounded soul singing out to the great beyond.

Origin Vol. I takes the Soundtrack of Our Lives another step forward. They may look back to the past for inspiration but they definitely have not looked at their own past for ways of recycling old tricks.