Bell X1: Bloodless Coup

Bell X1
Bloodless Coup
Yep Roc Records [2011]









Fire Note Says: Bell X1 experiment a bit more with electronica for mixed results.

Album Review:
Next to U2, Bell X1 are the biggest band in Ireland and after some moderate States success in 2008 the band continues to try and break the US listening market. Unfortunately, Bloodless Coup is not the record to accomplish the task. Even on Blue Lights On The Runway [2009], Bell X1 had several tracks that would grab you but on Bloodless Coup they are far and few between, as singer Paul Noonan gives it his best to reach out but lyrically these songs have problems eliciting emotion. For whatever reason, Bell X1 rely heavily on blips and bleeps injected into their compositions here that seem out of place and never help bring focus to the band's strength, which is the big sprawling rock. To complicate things, Bloodless Coup runs 55 minutes, which is way too long for this album, as it would have benefited from some editing. If this somewhat electronic way is the new direction for Bell X1, the group needs to bring back the big hooks that made their previous efforts likable and fun or risk permanent obscurity in North America.

Key Tracks: "Velcro", “The Trailing Skirts Of God", "4 Minute Mile"

Bands With Similar Fire:
Snow Patrol
Talking Heads
U2

Bell X1: Blue Lights On The Runway [Fire Note Review 3/3/09]
Bell X1: Flock [Fire Note Review 2/19/08]

Bell X1 Website
Bell X1 MySpace
Bell X1 Facebook
Yep Roc Records

-Reviewed by Christopher Anthony