The opening track shows that their take on My Chemical Romance-flavored emo and post-MySpace pop can work together, with a tinge of synthwave saxophone thrown in at random. They ride the beat more aggressively, considering how aggressive someone this androgynous can get. This is hooky and fun, not seriously considering this metal, but it is more complex than pop. They do have big, pop-pink choruses. These guys would have been huge if this hit in 2002. The Used is also a fair reference point.
"Frankincense: is the first song where they begin to lose their impact with me. I guess the nostalgia wore off quick and I began to think about The Used. It is also when the album gets too happy and goes on a downhill turn, with it beginning to sound like AI could have written these songs. It should be darker to go with their look, but hey, poseurs are a dime a dozen these days, so why not add to the burn pile. It is more interesting when they are making pop music on "Angel Engine"
"Real Spirit Caught On Tape" is catchier, but still borderline too happy for me. I do think the vocal lines are pretty clever on this one. Lyrically, it is also better than most. 'My Cortisol Face" is a great song title, but the song itself was less memorable, as I had to go back and give another listen to hear what happened. IN going back the results were not much different. Time flies while you are being numb, so it's been two decades since this sort of thing was big so the nostalgia comeback makes it when this album gets lost in the anthemic formula that made this sort of thing big, but there is an audience for it, so for them I will give this album an 8.5 .
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