Unto Others : "Never, Neverland"

In some ways, the opening track of this band's new album is an improvement, but I had to get over the onset of the song that sounds just like H.I.M. What was more puzzling was if many of the sonic keystones I listen for in music are in place then why is it not quite clicking. So I dug into my past reviews to find the answer,  all the way back to when they were called Idle Hands. I saw them open for King Diamond during that time and the cock rock influences were fighting with the goth band they want to be.  This more cock rocking side can be heard on "Momma Likes the Door Closed " which has a similar feel to the Micheal Graves era Misfits. 

Perhaps there is a stiffness to the singer baritone croon, that feels more like Volbeat to me at times and less gothy, despite their best efforts. Danzig has a bluesy swagger to his voice that this kid is not nailing. "Angel of the Night" finds this more pronounced. The mix of this album is not going a thick on the reverb to help them shed some of the 8os feel to their sound, this could be the Killers given where everything sits with bringing more mid-range to create a little brighter sound. If they are going for a more goth sound, it plays against that, If they are trying to find a more radio-friendly middle-ground. An anti-suicide anthem is not the most goth thing. This album is also a step away from metal, so if you see it on any end-of-the-year metal lists, call bullshit. After all "Sunshine' is pretty much pop. 

They use a harder-edged guitar, but revert to an almost ghost-flavored style or pop-rock on "Fame". Though the verses flow, better than most of the songs, and everything fits in place arrangement-wise. So there is some smart songwriting, but they are just now figuring out they were never really a metal band in the first place. The song titles are not this album's strength as "When the Kids Get Caught' is awkward, though the song itself works pretty well. I am buying it's more Stephen King-like take on horror. Some of the harmony guitar parts are solid. They double down and try to thrash out "Flatline" but the vocals don't work that great for it. "Time Goes On " feels more like a Blue Oyster Cult song, but it's catchy and works for me. 

They try to go for an 80s feel on "Cold World", but it feels more like 90s Duran Duran to me. The guitar playing is pretty great on it with some jazzy passages. "I Am the Light" waltzes like a circus theme, but as a rock song, it feels like it is trying too hard. "Raigeki" does not find its pieces fitting as solidly. It's the first song that is more of a fast-forward classic. "Hoops" has a clean guitar sound, so much so it reminds me of the Police before it kicks in. One of the more guitar-focused cuts.  The title track closes the album with an awkward fizzle, that does not live up to the album's strongest moments, but overall the album is a success as they realize who they are as a band, which is not a metal band, but writing sardonic pop anthems. I will give it a 9, which stacks it shoulder to shoulder against their other work where their strength were displayed differently. 

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