Review Summary: Like last minute homework
I have been a fan of Seether since I discovered them on the soundtrack of Freddy Vs. Jason. I enjoyed their first 4 albums, Karma & Effect being my favourite, and one of my favourite albums of all time now. I was fairly excited when they announced a new album, although my expectations were low, Finding Beauty was quite the let down after Karma & Effect, a good album, but I could see the decline in musical quality. And when Holding Onto Strings Better Left To Fray was released, I was let down. This album feels rushed. Lyrically, musically, right down to the artwork, it feels like last minute homework. Seether in the past have been critically panned for being formulaic, and to a certain degree, I agree. But their latest effort takes the cake. It's almost as if they've given up creatively, and are just trying to squeeze money out of us with their music.
The album, although disappointing, formulaic, and just downright lazy, is listenable. It's not like your ears are going to bleed when you hit "play". The albums opener, Fur Cue, is one of the better on the album, it sounds like Seether. But from then onwards, it's hard to tell the difference between each track. Country song, the albums biggest hit, is the only song on the album that you could call original. It's different to the other tracks, has more creative musicianship, and feels like Seether actually sat down and worked hard on this track. Here and Now, Roses, No Resolution and Fade out, are all listenable, but they are boring, rushed and just badly written. Forsaken, Down, Desire For Need, Tonight and Master of Disaster are less boring, these are the songs that earned this albums 3.0 rating from me, without them and Country Song, this album would have been a 2.0.
