Album Review of Figurines by Figurines.

Hooks: Figurines have 'em. Hooks everywhere. Hooks in droves. Looking back, though, it's not so much the hooks themselves that powered their mid-2000s breakthrough, Skeleton, but the propulsive, nearly punkish speed at which the Danish crew blew through them. A song like "The Wonder"-- with its ….

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Danish indie rock outfit Figurines' 2011 self-titled effort features more of the band's heartfelt, intricate melodic rock. Once again centered around singer/multi-instrumentalist Christian Hjelm's yearning high-pitched vocals, the album also features drummer/multi-instrumentalist Claus Salling Johansen and keyboardist/multi-instrumentalist Jens Ramon. Figurines is a collection of sparkling, lightly produced tracks bringing to mind a mix of the Shins' echoey alt-rock and the Fleet Foxes' harmony-driven folk-pop.

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Denmark’s Figurines has ridden ups and downs since its formation in the mid-1990s. Their breakthrough album, if you can call 2005’s sophomore release Skeleton that, was critically lauded by the likes of Pitchfork, Allmusic.com, and even Rolling Stone, which gushed that the album sounded like “Franz Ferdinand but much closer to a first-album Strokes with Mercury Rev’s Jonathan Donahue yelping at the helm.” OK. Not sure that the band sounds like Franz Ferdinand, but whatever.

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