About what you would expect from them at this point. None of the Youthful Excuberance of Youth and Young Manhood or AKA Shake Heartbreak; far more predictable than Because of the Times (my personal favorite) of Because of the Night.
"Mary" is the worst song they have ever written - by far. Not even listenable to me. And what hey did to Closer on the remix which is on the Japanese version literally made me angry. That was by far the best song on Only by the Night to me, and they cheesed it up.
that being said there are some solid tracks. It opens with "The End" which has a very thick, pulsating sound. I can see this one being great in concert, that bass shaking your feet. "Pony Up" has a very decent groove to it with some very decent lyrics. In the closing track "Pickup Truck" Caleb's vocals really shine, this one will get you thinking about your past. In "Mi Amigo" they take on a country type groove, very mellow and chill, sounds like something you would hear in a bar. Strong track. I foresee "Birthday" being a huge mainstream hit this year, I don't like it that much but it is perfect for the mainstream.
I give it 3 out of 5 stars, because my mind can't stop comparing it to their past work. Very solid album especially in comparison to 99% of the crap being put out these days. The sound is so bass driven and thick that I am sure the shows will be very entertaining. Just don't know if I will spend the buck this time around, this one just went very mainstream, and to me that is not a good thing.
"Mary" is the worst song they have ever written - by far. Not even listenable to me. And what hey did to Closer on the remix which is on the Japanese version literally made me angry. That was by far the best song on Only by the Night to me, and they cheesed it up.
that being said there are some solid tracks. It opens with "The End" which has a very thick, pulsating sound. I can see this one being great in concert, that bass shaking your feet. "Pony Up" has a very decent groove to it with some very decent lyrics. In the closing track "Pickup Truck" Caleb's vocals really shine, this one will get you thinking about your past. In "Mi Amigo" they take on a country type groove, very mellow and chill, sounds like something you would hear in a bar. Strong track. I foresee "Birthday" being a huge mainstream hit this year, I don't like it that much but it is perfect for the mainstream.
I give it 3 out of 5 stars, because my mind can't stop comparing it to their past work. Very solid album especially in comparison to 99% of the crap being put out these days. The sound is so bass driven and thick that I am sure the shows will be very entertaining. Just don't know if I will spend the buck this time around, this one just went very mainstream, and to me that is not a good thing.
