The 2022 album by this Canadian duo got an 8, which is high enough of a score for me to risk investing the time to review another one of their albums. They are a little angrier this time around on the almost nu-metal sound of "Feel Something". It has a groove where the opening track feels like more of an intro. "Cat Cup' is almost too chaotic for its own good. Though they pull it together somehow. It's funny because I found this album while looking for industrial albums to review, and while this is not industrial their style of glitched-out pop meets cybercore- is enough to earn them a spot here. If memory serves this album feels heavier than 'Forget Your Own Face". Their childish melodies will appeal to younger listeners who are stuck in a suspended state of childhood these days.
There are 22 songs on this double album, which is excessive and I am betting at the end of the day this would have all made one killer album if they had focused on ten solid songs. "Wounded Animal' is like a depressed child chanting nursery rhymes. This could have been scrapped on the planning table as it does not contribute to the overall feel of the album. Though I have heard this album is their swan song, which means they wanted to slap everything they had on it, as a goodbye. "Good Things Happen" has a more reliable groove. It does wander off into the more adolescent indie pop sound they also toy with.
So far I think if a DJ tried to mix these songs into a goth nite set, they would confuse everyone. "Don't Forgive the World' is more of a deliberate spastic outburst tempered with the silly melodic side and lyrical brattiness. At the heart of this album, I think they are making it for people who listen to Bright Eyes rather than Ministry fans, though there is a great deal of shared sonic ground with Mindless Self Indulgence. This indie pop theory is confirmed more in "The World". The beats modulate in some interesting ways. "Pure Reality" finds them in an apathetic melancholy, as they muse about what people think of them. The guitars are more rock on this one. "If You Find Me Gone" is just your average slacker rock.
"Last Love Song on this Little Planet' is another middle-of-the-road indie rock song, that does not bring much new to the table. There is a dynamic shift in a more rocking direction but nothing is ground breaking here. "I Still See Everything' works off an endearing groove. Things get a little darker on 'Stoopid Dream' which works well enough. "1-800- the -Moon" is poppier, which in their case means they put more thought into the songwriting process. Things touch on witch house-like synth passages."Magic Eye" finds a more white girl approach to rapping taking over. "Rotation" takes the themes from the previous song into a more uptempo direction.
The beat to "No Days Off'" finds a needed increase in its punch multiplied that keeps the song moving in a better direction. This might be the album's best song. "Champion in Decay' is another song no one would have missed if they had trimmed things down here. "Can't Keep the Knots Out". There is more of the noise-haunted indie pop going down as the album progresses. I like the tinge of auto-tune on her voice for "Zero Fantasy'. This effect works well with what they are going for. The song takes a happier turn than expected but it works for what they are doing. "Silence' shifts into an angular pop direction. The indie thing is pretty prevalent. This is a fitting goodbye though the length of this album is excessive I will give it an 8, putting it on par with the previous album.
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