Opener of the new album strikes me as being darker. The vocals carry more disdain in the narrative. There is a straightforward punk feel to the second song "Glutton for Love". It is however colored by new wave synths. The vocals remained buried under the layers of sound. There is more melodic guitar to "Live (in a dream)" that gives a dynamic sidestep from the punk formula that sounded in place for the first two songs. Where his other band Drab Majesty has a bigger sound that throws it back more to the 80s, things are more compressed and sonically tense. For 'Walk of Fame" that get closer to where Drab Majesty comes from. It is even more impressive when things take on a denser fuzz. It almost sounds like a different song. Not the smoothest transition but balanced out for the overall sound.
"Crisis Stage" kind of splits the difference between the two moods we have heard from this album. The vocals are lower and bleaks though we are Knight riding over the synth groove. The guitar flirts with the edges of the song. It is pretty much all hinging on the bass line, which is not uncommon for post-punk. The vocal hook is pretty cool. When things end up reverting back to a more punk place it does not feel as well written on "Taste of Hate". The multi tracked vocals work for what they are doing and have a better place in the mix.
The mood to "Snake Water" does get darker and angrier, but it also focuses more on the sounds being captured rather than where the song needs to go in order to have more dimension. The album is about the seedy under belly of LA, which no one should be surprised about. The tempo for the last song picks. The production is a little murkier. It falls back into the direction this album began on. I will give this album an 8.5, perhaps it will grow on me and I will rethink it then, but it does not feel as inspired as the first album.
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