7/10

Canadian indie rockers In-Flight Safety were one of the most talked about new acts on the underground scene at the end of the last decade. But in the five years since the band last produced a studio album, two original members have departed leaving just two others to carry on the band's legacy. Their first two albums brought them huge critical acclaim from around the world but can such a promising band still reignite themselves after five years away at only half the size?

Much of their previous material was regularly compared to Coldplay, which can be credited to the vocal style of frontman John Mullane, but this new record seems to have a far darker undertone than anything before them. While some of the record still has that uplifting sensibility, much of it tends to opt for a more sombre and downbeat approach. Rather than be a pop record with feeling, this is a record that steps further away from their mainstream sound and looks to create something with more soul and emotion than we have heard before.

While it still has its soppy ballads and pseudo love songs, 'Conversationist' adds a lot more to the band's repertoire of big anthems that help give this album a more diverse appeal and in all, breaks the monotony of some of their weaker tracks.