Lacuna Coil - Shallow Life
List Price:
Our Price: $8.85
You Save: $8.13 (48%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $5.75 (click here)
Category: Music CD
See more CD details
Buy this Music CD at online store in your country
Canadian Music Store
Canadian Music Store
CD Details
Artist: Lacuna CoilEdition: Music CD
Audio: English (Unknown)
CD Release Date: 2009-04-21
Music Label: Century Media
Soundtracks:
- Survive
- I Won't Tell You
- Not Enough
- I'm Not Afraid
- I Like It
- Underdog
- The Pain
- Spellbound
- Wide Awake
- The Maze
- Unchained
- Shallow Life
Music reviews of Shallow Life
Music Review: I enjoyed it, but the critics have a point.
Rating: 3 Stars
It seems that Lacuna Coil have suffered a backlash with Shallow Life -- just read some of these reviews. I can see where the critics are coming from. Shallow Life has a much smoother, more mainstream production than Karmacode. The music is much less tumultuous, the vocals are much louder in the mix, as in typical radio-friendly rock. Karmacode certainly sounds more interesting.
But the band's songs haven't really gotten any worse -- it's just that the production exposes the weaknesses that were always there. For all that Karmacode is a good album, it has all of the same problems. First, Lacuna Coil are not terribly proficient songwriters. They don't really write memorable hooks or riffs, and they rarely play solos that go beyond following the vocal line. They're good at creating a loud, roiling sound, where the drums crash and the guitars have this metallic reverberating growl, and the synthesizers are sort of swirling around everything else, but they tend to repeat this approach on most of their songs. Even Karmacode has a bunch of tracks that sound very similar. Really, the main attraction of Lacuna Coil is the remarkable vocal interplay between Andrea Ferro and Cristina Scabbia, rather than the music.
Shallow Life is no different in this respect. Honestly, I can't really differentiate the music in "I'm Not Afraid," "Underdog," "Spellbound" and many other songs. However, the radio-friendly production actually leads Lacuna Coil to branch out a bit by trying out some dance elements on two songs, "I Won't Tell You" and "I Like It." The dance elements are very light, consisting mostly of steady 4/4 beats with high-hats, as well as more synth-oriented music and "diva-like" vocals (Cristina sounds a lot like KMFDM's countless industrial divas on these songs), but they do add energy to the album. Goth or metal purists may be upset by this, but I quite enjoy it; I think the coolest goth and industrial bands were always the ones that had a secret dance fascination. But anyway, these two songs liven up the album a lot, and contribute the catchiest choruses.
The other weakness of Lacuna Coil is their lyrics. On Karmacode, the voices tended to blend into the loud, stormy music, so it didn't really matter what they were singing. Unfortunately, on Shallow Life, the production emphasizes the vocals. You can see the general trend from the song titles -- they write vague fight-songs with names like "I'm Not Afraid," "Underdog," "The Pain," and "Unchained." The songs have positive messages about overcoming your problems and finding the strength to push on, but there's a lot of awkward repetition, like the call-and-response in "I Won't Tell You," where Andrea first yells, "How can I tell you you're falling apart? Open your eyes if you want to survive! How can I tell you your love is a lie?" and then Cristina answers, "Don't ever tell me I'm falling apart, don't ever tell me I will not survive, don't ever tell me this love is a lie." Not really top material.
The smooth production seems to suggest that they're going for mainstream appeal, which means that all the songs are in English. Karmacode had one song in their native Italian, and it actually sounded awesome. I think they ought to do that more. I mean, every Ladytron album has a couple of songs in Bulgarian, and it works fine for them. I've no clue what they're saying, but at least it sounds cool.
Fortunately, at least the vocals in Shallow Life are strong. Some people don't like Andrea's voice; it's true that it's much more limited than Cristina's, but I think they contrast well together, although it would be nice to hear him branch out beyond his rasping shout. On the bonus track "Oblivion," he tries a slightly more relaxed, melodic approach, and it sounds good. Why doesn't he do that more often?
I should also mention that Shallow Life greatly improves toward the end, which is a pleasant surprise. "Unchained" adds much-needed variety with an unexpected guitar solo. It sounds very good, in a classic-rock kind of way (I thought of Wall-era David Gilmour), and makes me wish that their guitarist had a little more room to play without vocals on top. "Shallow Life" is an excellent ballad -- the piano is effective and there's also a sort of bouncy electronic break occasionally appearing in the background that provides an interesting diversion after all the straightforward guitar distortion on the album. This song also puts some cool effects on Andrea's voice, making it sound less harsh and squawking. Perhaps he should look into using a vocoder. Cristina rounds things out with a movingly weary vocal performance, which is very welcome after all the generically-peppy statements of defiance.
But, yeah, I do miss the more ornate, baroque side of Karmacode -- songs like "Within Me" or "Without Fear" that had more of a dignified classical tinge among all the angry rock. That side does not appear on Shallow Life at all, except possibly for the title track. This may be the reason why many reviewers get an impression of "shallowness" from the album. The two dance-inflected tracks are the closest that Shallow Life comes to a Big Single (the last two songs are the best, but they're not really anthems), but their lyrics and straightforward music are less interesting than the dramatic build-up of "Within Me."
The worst thing the album does is to highlight weaknesses that the band already had, which is usually what happens with a more streamlined production. It is, however, enjoyable, and in small ways, it even tries a few new things. Hopefully the good parts of the album indicate some kind of new direction.
Description of Shallow Life
with acclaimed producer Don Gilmore (Avril Lavigne, Linkin Park, Pearl Jam) at the famed NRG Studios in Los Angeles. This new effort is another huge step forward in the band's continuous evolution and marks their first full-length since 2006's Karmacode.Cristina Scabbia (vocals) states: "Shallow Life is a natural metamorphosis from within the band; we explored different musical territories while maintaining our own style. A mix of old and new, fast and slow and light and dark. The album production is incredibly powerful and has a beautiful purity to it. Shallow Life has forced us to challenge ourselves. It represents the way we see ourselves in the days we live in through truth, love and lies."
Alternative Rock CDs
Music Genres
Bestsellers in Alternative Rock CDs
Bouncing Souls - Maniacal LaughterRelease date: 1996-01-26; Music CD
Best price: $30.00
Blondie - Parallel LinesRelease date: 1994-07-29; Music CD
Best price: $149.98
Doors - L.A. WomanRelease date: 1993-04-09; Music CD
Best price: $99.99
Amon Duul - Phallus DeiRelease date: 1997-04-08; Music CD
Price in other shops:
Tangerine Dream - MelroseRelease date: 1990-10-02; Music CD
Best price: $74.98
Tangerine Dream - Private Music of Tangerine DreamRelease date: 1992-11-10; Music CD
Best price: $5.00
Price in other shops:
![Ska Explosion [VHS] Image](/images/Ska-Explosion-VHS-6303381014-X.jpg){kind=small}
Ska Explosion [VHS]Cleopatra; Release date: 1995-02-28; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $14.99
Price in other shops:
![Little Earthquakes [VHS] Image](/images/Little-Earthquakes-VHS-6302488664-X.jpg){kind=small}
Little Earthquakes [VHS]Atlantic / Wea; Release date: 1992-11-10; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $12.50
Price in other shops:
Exileby Geoffrey Oryema
Music CD
Best price: $4.95
![Louder Than Live [VHS] Image](/images/Louder-Than-Live-VHS-6301627865-X.jpg){kind=small}
Soundgarden - Louder Than Live [VHS]A&M Video; Release date: 1991-07-01; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $192.68
Similar CDs
Evanescence - EvanescenceRelease date: 2011-10-11; Music CD
Best price: $8.79
Price in other shops:
Within Temptation - The Silent ForceWITHIN TEMPTATION; Release date: 2008-08-05; Music CD
Best price: $7.54
Price in other shops:
Within Temptation - The Unforgiving (Special Edition CD+DVD)Release date: 2011-03-29; Music CD
Best price: $17.96
Price in other shops:
Lacuna Coil - Lacuna Coil: Visual KarmaRelease date: 2008-11-24; DVD
Best price: $7.79
Price in other shops:
Lacuna Coil - Lacuna CoilRelease date: 1998-04-07; Music CD
Best price: $4.19
Price in other shops:
Lacuna Coil - In a ReverieRelease date: 1999-06-08; Music CD
Best price: $11.25
Price in other shops:
Lacuna Coil - Unleashed MemoriesRelease date: 2001-03-20; Music CD
Best price: $7.99
Price in other shops:
Lacuna Coil - ComaliesRelease date: 2002-10-29; Music CD
Best price: $5.86
Price in other shops:
Lacuna Coil - KarmacodeRelease date: 2006-04-04; Music CD
Best price: $7.22
Price in other shops:
Lacuna Coil - Dark AdrenalineRelease date: 2012-01-24; Music CD
Best price: $7.99
Price in other shops: