The first thing that surprises me, listening to Retroheads second album, is the rather poor sounds quality (that is relatively poor for a Unicorn Digital release). The second thing is the title “Introspective”, which lies close to the title of the debut “Retrospective”. Another thing that hasn’t changed much is the obvious influence of eighties British sympho. This might even be why the vocals and the drums sound slightly high pitched. Too bad, I prefer a more modern, slightly heavier sound. This album mixed my feelings. There are a few up tempo tracks with lots going on, and a few more laid back tracks with the emphasis on melody.

The songs in the first category fall short. The sound is messy and there doesn’t seem to be any defined direction. The songs in the second category prove that Retrospective have improved in the last couple of years. I particularly like “Living In A Bubble” (great title). Solid rhythms combined with excellent mysterious vocals and rather genius drumming, an absolute high on the album. Retro heads make a small step in the right direction since the 2002 debut. They have to make yet another step to get the ratings of their albums above 7.5 out of 10 though...