AMG Review of Attics to Eden

Andrew Leahey
All Music Guide

Madina Lake's second album is produced by David Bendeth, the same man who helped turn Paramore's Riot! into one of the most popular emo-pop albums of 2007. While Paramore's album melded big, bright choruses with teenaged angst, the boys in Madina Lake prefer a darker blend of electronic flourishes and anxious, brittle rock. They also pepper their music with futuristic story lines, although the fictional town that inspired much of the band's debut is largely absent from this sophomore effort. Instead, Attics to Eden takes up residence in the intersection of post-grunge and emo-inspired rock.