Review Summary: Another level of boring.
‘Psalms’, released on the 2nd of November 2018, is the latest release by Hollywood Undead. The EP contains 5 songs that give us about 18 minutes of new material.
Let’s get to the actual review, shall we?
Some time ago I would be really excited for a new release from Hollywood Undead. I actually were pretty excited for ‘Five’ a year ago. And that album was good. Not phenomenal by any means, but it had some bangers such as ‘California Dreaming’, ‘Renegade’ or ‘We Own The Night’.
This time, however, I was nowhere near excited when I first heard the single ‘Gotta Let Go’. I didn’t like the pop direction the band was going. The second single, ‘Another Level’ was bad, and I mean really bad. Now, Hollywood Undead are a experimental band and I acknowledge that they are trying out some new sounds, but what exactly is the sound of this EP?
As most HU albums, this EP doesn’t have a defined sound. All of the 5 songs sound different from one another, and that’s a good thing. Let’s start with the singles. The lead single, ‘Gotta Let Go’ is an acoustic pop song. Apart from the fact that the hook is catch, it’s pretty boring, but it seems like the only intend of it was to be catchy, like it was made only to get radio play.
The second single ‘Another Level’ is by far the worst song on this boring extended play. The song features a kinda trap sound with one of the most disappointing and boring drops I’ve heard recently. The song has the most annoying chorus I’ve ever heard. It basically consists of a low-pitched robotic voice repeating a single phrase for 30 seconds. And it’s repeated like 4 times in this piece of sh*t song.
It features some phenomenal lyrics such as:
“I’m on another level.
I’m on another level
I’m on another level
Little bitch
I’m on another level
I’m on another level
I’m on another level
Sh*t!”
They’re on another level of lyricism for sure on this song.
‘Live Fast, Die Young’ is a pretty interesting song with a alternative pop vibe to it. It features mostly Danny on the microphone, which is something good to see. And damn, it’s really catchy! I wouldn’t be surprised to see this song on the radio.
The next song is ‘Something to Believe’. This song is something we’ve seen HU do many times. Johnny 3 Tears on the verses and Danny on the chorus, resulting in an overall poppy song. It’s pretty repetitive as well, and the instrumental isn’t really helping it, as it is a pretty generic and uninteresting pop trap beat.
But there is a light at the end of the tunnel, or rather at the start of the tunnel. It is the opener, ‘Bloody Nose’. It is a song in the style in which HU always shined. The verses are a nice exchange of Charlie Scene’s singing and Danny singing over a heavier beat. A really interesting touch in this song is J-Dog’s screaming verse after the second chorus.
On the final note, even though this EP disappointed me, I’m still waiting for their next album coming next year, and I have some expectations, as the band is working with drummer Luke Holland (ex-The Word Alive). However, if they continue the sound from this EP, I’m ready to call it quits on this band.
