This is the band's sixth album. They have continued further down their creative path. This has taken them past the point of being referred to as screamo though the second song of their new album shows they are still explosive when they want to be. However, this is handled in more of a punk fashion and less overt emoting. The more polished production compliments the progression of their creative path. The guitars are where the growth is most obvious as they have a wider array of tones. On a song like 'Hal Ashby" they embrace the late 90s all over again thanks to the jangle of the guitars. This feels the most like what "emo" was once defined as though more punk drive that thankfully owes more to Hotwatermusic than Blink 182.
The songs are very dynamic, making this feel like a fully realized version of who they are as a band. Listening to this album with headphones is recommended to hear some of the nuanced touches in production There are tons of great guitar tones captured. "Force of Habit" paints a clearer picture of what this band is known for as the vocals are more of a spoken-word narrative. The guitar creates a moody ambiance to cushion the blow of the more yelled vocal sections. "Mezzanine" is more of an angry clanging. This one leans them more in the direction of hardcore. The bright organic guitars keep things from being dark, though there are some sullen sonics that haunt the background. Most of the songs are under three minutes with the last song breaking this rule.
"This Routine" is more rock n roll than the previous song, though the vocal approach to this album is pretty one dimensional which is consistent with who this band is. The band is working together when it comes to this to balance out the sound as a whole and compensate for this. "Finalist" is more punk in its in-your-face drive, Lou Barlow lends his voice to "Subversion", it's enough of a shift to give the needed dynamic colors. It's one of the album's better songs. The bass player wins the most improved award on this album, and his talents lift "the Glue". Julien Baker from Boygenius is on the last song. There is some chaos going on in the song, Baker's contribution is too little to late it would have been more helpful if she had dropped more of a hook. I will give this album an 8.5, it's some solid songwriting and sounds great though I have never been a fan of their singer.
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