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Feb 10, 2014 Fanfarlo By Austin Trunick

These grand baroque Brits have been ducking Arcade Fire comparisons since their genesis. With their previous album, they managed to leapfrog their Canadian analogues by being the first to put out a surprise synth-and dance-leaning record. 2012’s Rooms Filled with Light caught many listeners off-guard, and even scared off a handful. With Let’s Go Extinct, they’ve thumbed the reset button and delivered a record closer in tone to their promising debut album. There’s a level of warmth to this set of songs which wasn’t there on the preceding one, and it’s a welcome return.

Let’s Go Extinct is laid out as a concept album about “human evolution and possible futures,” but it’s not easy to discern that theme without prompting. Listen closely, though, and it’s there: a melancholy meditation on mankind’s throughline, starting from our beginnings (“I think of us when we were molecules/Sitting in the dark and waiting for reactions to occur,” from opener “Life in the Sky”) and looking ahead to our eventual end (“We’re standing in the way of ourselves/It’s clear the world will go on without us and the dust will rearrange itself again,” from closing track “Let’s Go Extinct”). This careful, well-threaded motif isn’t necessary for the record’s enjoyment, but it does greatly enhance the experience for the thoughtful listener.

The compositions are, thankfully, more uplifting than many of their lyrics. Beneath the evolutionary musings, Let’s Go Extinct is lovingly orchestrated pop music, flush with strings, woodwinds, and horns. Fanfarlo were smart to get back to the roots which led fans to fall in love with them in the first place; laudably, they’ve avoided rehashing old ground and instead explored that original style deeper. This is a band recovering from a misstep with their best album yet. (www.fanfarlo.com)

Author rating: 7.5/10