Review Summary: After a five year hiatus, Tokio Hotel returns with a less than stellar record.
When you hear the name 'Tokio Hotel', you would most likely think of the German pop band sensation and thousands of annoying screaming fans. The band became insanely popular while the members were still young teenagers. It has been five years since their last release, and during those five years it appears the boys have went through some.. changes. For example their appearance. They went from wearing dark clothes and eyeliner, to wearing flashy clothes and jewelry. And even sporting facial hair.
But perhaps the most notable change is the music, as they gear more towards sexually based lyrics. The lyrics from the albums lead single 'Love Who Loves You Back' might add a slight level of discomfort to the listener. With lyrics like: "what's underneath the moon and stars. what's underneath our clothes sweetheart?" and "There's a call on you while, there's a snake in your bed. And it's telling you something (it says) I like it like that" ..gross. These guys are adults now and no longer teenagers. So they are completely eligible to have sexually based lyrics. But they are so in your face with it you can't help but feel uncomfortable.
Disturbing lyrics aside, the song is well-produced. The giggles that appear almost discreetly during the chorus, adds a measure of kinkiness to the song and make it a fun listen. The album as a whole has a sort of 80's dance music vibe to it. Which is something very different from their previous more rock-based albums. In some parts of the album, the band is able to make it work. But in other parts, it just feels a bit repetitive and forced. Like in the song 'Covered In Gold' which has a lot of electronic sounds in it, and it even features the use of auto-tune.
The lyrical content of the album is even less impressive. It appears as if the band made no serious attempt in the songwriting department. For example, these are the lyrics to the chorus of one of the singles 'Girl Got a Gun': "Girl got a gun, girl got a gun gun gun, girl got a gun, girl got a gun, bang bang'. So much lyrical depth huh? The song 'Stormy Weather" is similar with the lead singer just constantly repeating the words "stormy weather" during the chorus. It just makes the songwriting seem bland and lazy. Very similar to the way a lot of pop songs are written nowadays.
The title of the album is 'Kings of Suburbia'. But besides the titular track, there aren't really any other tracks that really support this theme. It makes one really wonder why they chose that name for the album. The whole album just feels like your at some awkward dance party, with everyone wearing strange costumes and bunny-outfits. Yeah, those kind of parties. The album does have some decent tracks that really save it from being a total dud. Like the soft-piano ballad 'Run, Run, Run'. The song is brittled with emotion and is probably the best track on the album. 'Invaded' is another great track. It has some lovely piano playing and moving lyrics. Bill does a good job in providing that emotional vocal delivery that's almost transparent in this album.
Tokio Hotel decided to go a whole new direction with this album. But ended up with a sub-par record with a lot of bumps in the road. Though I do commend the band for trying something new. I just wish they had a clear direction first, rather than just blatantly make a record with a whole bunch of sexual innuendos and electronic sounds, with barely any good lyrical content. The band is still young and have a lot of years ahead of them. But if they continue to put off efforts like these, it might affect if anyone would listen or not.
