It feels like they are reining things back from the Avril Lavigne sounding album I did not like, and back to making moody pop-inflected indie rock. At least the opening track makes me hopeful for this. Do I still think they are trying to cash in on the push of the alphabet people, sure, but I care less about that if they are delivering great songs like this. Heather claims that Kacey Musgraves was an inspiration for this album, but I hear more Cranberries. The most pop is on the choruses of these songs, "Thinking About You' is the first song that doesn't hold up to what they deliver on the first three but maybe it needs to grow on me.
There is some influence from the Cure in the guitar playing, where Heather's vocal inflections owe more to the Cranberries, but with Delores dead why not? "Last Train Home" has a more drifting strum that borders on being more of a ballad. It has a nice float to it. I prefer this much more than the pop grasping of the last album. "Kiss Me Again" is the first song I can hear any country music influences she mentioned, but it's more in the spacious mix. "Mis America' finds them back in step with the sound they need to work with.
"Hate to Hurt You" is poppier but still works well enough. "Seeing Stars" plays to their strengths to an even greater extent. The last two songs find a middle ground between their pop aspirations and the jangling indie rock that is their strength. "Slow" has a more hushed ambiance but moves well. I'll give this one a 9.5 and see how it grows on me but happy to hear them back to their roots as a band.
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