Don’t expect Places Like This to win you over with endearing cutesy. No, it’s going to sit you down and tell you to like it. Architecture In Helsinki are tired of being both dismissed and exalted as exceedingly twee, damned with faint praise as an endearing collective. With an exponentially increasing fan-base over two previous albums, Fingers Crossed and In Case We Die, Architecture are almost heavy-hitters in terms of an Australian indie act, and Places Like This desperately wants to show just how good they can be.

To paraphrase pop-culture’s lexicon, with money comes responsibility. It may be all well and good to be indie darlings, but with each record, there are greater sales expectations and a greater market to please. Places Like This will appeal to a broader segment alright, but it is blander for it. While there is no doubt it is stronger technically than previous work, with little filler and a rich, slick sound that makes for an incessantly and unavoidably catchy whole, for all its obvious strengths – and at times brilliance – it is a less likeable proposition. And when it comes down to it, music should be appealing, endearing and enjoyable rather than just technically proficient; something Architecture In Helsinki could once do in their sleep. That said, they remain as unique and unmistakeable as ever.

There has been a progression, an overwhelming shift in their sound, and it would also seem, ideology. Architecture have stripped any hint of ‘twee’ from their work, and while In Case We Die toyed with electro clicks and pops in ‘Do The Whirlwind’, ‘The Cemetery’ and others, there has  been nothing like the consuming electronica that is present here. While the story regarding their culling of two members for now remains relatively cryptic (perhaps unwisely, given people’s natural predisposition to cast aspersions and doubting conjecture), it remains a workable analogy for their sound. The ‘collective’ nature of the band previously attributed them a ‘collective’ sound, loosely bound and portioned, songs were woven from strands and samples, childhood instruments and freely shared vocals. Places Like This is the sound of a tight, practiced and committed band, with little room for extraneous accessions (or band members) or the aforementioned twee-ness. The result is an imposing gloss, but a hole in the heart.

Architecture in Helsinki had to grow up at some point, so they buttoned-down their joyful exuberance, streamlined the collective, and came away with hard, pounding, aggressive edge. First single ‘Heart It Races’ is mind-bendingly catchy, but instead of a whimsical endearment, it is a more efficient, calculated version. This is not criticism, the song worms into your head with worrying ease and is constantly excellent and powerfully addictive. The criticism is that Architecture have sacrificed a portion of warmth, happiness and heart for this streamlined economy. Once they had a mortgage on convulsively ecstatic and adorable material, embodied by the anticipation Places Like This has garnered, and international acceptance the band have earned. The single is sandwiched between ‘Red Turns White’ and ‘Hold Music’, both example of a brash, louder-is-better belief. In both, singer Cameron Bird’s vocals are overwrought (a technique that quickly grates), and there is a heavy reliance on Architecture’s new synthesiser collection (and a concerning similarity to The B52’s). A band shouldn’t be criticised for changing its sound in any circumstance, but if the result is regression, it’s free game. Thankfully, it’s not all doom and gloom (or shouting and bass), and ‘Like It Or Not’ recalls their twee heyday. Remembering the art of exclamation they perfected in ‘It’s 5’, it focuses on traditional instruments, a childish slant and a willingness to mix things up. Not only this, but Bird is refreshingly sparing with his reaching voice, which by now has become annoying. ‘Debbie’ follows, its jaunting near-rap helping the whole song sound like a hip-hop sample. Surprisingly given the prominence of the new sound, it and successor, ‘Lazy (Lazy)’ are great, while penultimate ‘Nothing’s Wrong’ improves again. This quartet is easily enough to lift the album, and gentle ‘Underwater’ helps, especially after the before insipid ‘Feather In A Baseball Cap’.

Places Like This is an ominous proposition, Architecture in Helsinki were always likeable, attractive and endearing, but with this sleek, powerful conception they are primed to grasp the opportunities clearly in front of them. The songs are fun, catchy and loud, and god-forbid more commercial. It does take time for Architecture In Helsinki to become comfortable with this new conception, but when they hit it, they are as fantastic as ever; it is just a shame that this new persona feels forced. Yet even if it does evoke a cynical pang in the depths of your heart, you will be hard pressed to avoid its advances.