The Rasmus Dead Letters

By REBECCA BARRY

(Herald rating: * * *)

Are they serious? Who knows, but Finnish quartet the Rasmus make great pop in a laughable, pretend-you-don't-like-them kind of way.

With a stream of successes in their homeland, from number ones to the Finnish Grammy awards, they've broken into the English-speaking market with In the Shadows, which went to number one here on the strength of its boppy guitar refrains, dark Abba melodies and contagious "Oh-oh Oh-oh!" hook.

Elsewhere they sound like an androgynous, grungeless Linkin Park, the moody guitars of First Day of My Life and In My Life melting into frontman Lauri Yloenen's forlorn Jon Bon Jovi-style howling.

While the Rasmus write superbly catchy songs that border on a sort of gothic peppiness, unlike the self-deprecating retro-rock of the Darkness, it's hard to know if they're in on the joke.

Label: Universal