It's not an overstatement to say that
International
was a huge step forward for
Lust for Youth
: As
Hannes Norrvide
's solo project became a trio, his introspection moved from underneath headphones onto the dancefloor. The moves
Norrvide
and company make on
Compassion
are smaller, but just as significant. Having found a niche within euphoric dance music and goth brooding, this time
look inward in a way that could have only happened after making
. Some of that album's crispness softens on these songs, giving way to a vulnerability that reflects the trio's growing assurance. The way
slows down and bares its collective heart only adds to
's majesty: As
sings about "all the lovers out there" over a rising tide of synths, "Stardom" plays like a prologue, drawing listeners into the album's lovelorn world. Even the grandest moments retain
's unique intimacy, which feels equally at home in a crowd or a bedroom. The seven-and-a-half-minute-long single "Better Looking Brother" sets jealousy and closeness to a kinetic beat; when
sings "you have a part to play tonight," it feels like both a thrill and a comedown.
expresses the dance between joy and despair at the heart of
's music even more eloquently than
, thanks to its more fully developed songs. "Limerence" -- named for a term for intense, unrequited love -- might be the most quintessentially
song yet, a bright but bittersweet meditation on someone so near yet so far that, along with the heartbroken synth pop of "Sudden Ambitions," shows how much their songwriting chops have grown. Likewise, gauzy interludes such as "Easy Window" and "In Return" feel even better integrated as they enhance and balance
's more attention-getting moments. It all makes for a heartfelt, satisfying whole that reaffirms
as one of the few bands reinterpreting the '80s that can rival and surpass its influences as well as its contemporaries. ~ Heather Phares