I heard MS MR for the first time while driving; something about their sound and the feelings that it provoked in me made my ears prick up – listening ever so carefully for the name of the band and song. As it turns out the song was ‘Hurricane’ (the opening track to Secondhand Rapture) which tells a tale of black hearted love. The swirling darkness of the arrangement coupled with Lizzy Plapinger’s light and endearing vocals was unlike anything I had heard previously – and I loved it. Unfortunately, the album as a whole did not capture me in quite the same way.
Don’t get me wrong, the songs are good; they just don’t poke at and inspire me in the same way that ‘Hurricane’ did. I was expecting Secondhand Rapture to be lightly dipped in darkness but surprisingly (in a good way) it had been dropped right in. ‘Bones’ is reminiscent of Florence Welch’s ‘Blinding’ – Plapinger’s crowing over strings and heavy drums bringing the comparison to mind, while ‘Fantasy’ has an almost gospel feel to it with hand claps and a prominent organ progression. My issue with the album is that once the first layer has been peeled back (and it’s a mighty fine one), there isn’t much to be discovered underneath. I feel as though MS MR are teetering on the edge of doing something very special – unfortunately Secondhand Rapture hasn’t quite hit the mark.
6/10
Reviewer: Cormack O’Connor
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBBTVuF3_OI