Review Summary: I'm not perfect and that's okay.
What more needs to be said about Upon a Burning Body? It's easy to say about any new album, "hey, it's not as good as 'The World Is Ours' but it's okay I guess." This is essentially what this review is saying, but the issue is that it's been said about the last two albums. Perhaps therein lies the problem with the San Antonio three-piece: it's all been said and done, and the writing's been on the wall for a while. They've had their fun burning this mother down and chugging all night long (guitars and booze alike), and frankly, fourth full-length "Straight from the Barrio" is simply a lyrical and musical reiteration of that reputation.
There are still breakdowns, there are still f-bombs, there are still moments of ham-fisted inspiration and Latin-influenced nu-metal worship (more so this time around). But amid the muck, the filler, and the brutal moments, we see glimmers of hope, which is what ultimately saves this LP from being the fourth album of the Latino Texan Emmure.
It would be thrice redundant to say that Danny Leal's vocals have not nearly touched upon the versatility that the band's debut offered, or that guitarist Ruben Alvarez's wizardry is not nearly as magical as CJ Johnson's, or that drummer Tito Felix plays pretty well, all things considered, or that bass guitar (also performed by Alvarez) remains unheard. This has all been said.
And while "The World Is My Enemy Now" and "Red.White.Green" were sloppy and lukewarm, they had enjoyable qualities, namely a sense of energy and passion, even if it was for alcohol and self-promotion. The difference here, and what hasn't been said, due in part to Leal's thankfully improved vocal performance, is an atmosphere of exhaustion and energy depleted. While many would consider this a step backward toward stagnation and ultimately ruin, it's rather refreshing to see the facade of hyper-masculinity begin to crack. While certainly there are still songs about pounding back tequila and partying ("Til the Break of Dawn") while reaffirming masculine self-authority ("You Don't Own Me" and "Media Blackout"), there are quieter moments, not always sonically but lyrically.
It is in these moments when Leal reflects on his own life, something never touched upon fully in prior releases. Although the cheesiness of "City Hall" and "The Island of Lost Dreams" is worn firmly on the band's collective sleeve in these moments and abstract poetry remains perhaps a dream for further down the line, these moments of vulnerability make this album worth listening to. Songs like "Already Broken", "The Outcast", "D.T.A. (Don't Trust Anyone)", and "Walk Alone Again," discuss an impoverished and underprivileged past that still haunts him, while "Leave the Pain Behind" discusses, in a surprisingly mature way, Leal's drinking problem. A strange addition, indeed sonically, to this experience is the final track, "My Distorted Reflection." Clean vocals have never been a huge priority (this is deathcore we're talking about after all), but the angelic vocals of "Heat" and "City Hall" disappeared after their debut, and took on a more monotonous gritty grunge influence thereafter. The final track of "Straight from the Barrio" features almost entirely clean singing, as the lyrics repeat "I'm not perfect and that's okay." Again, while this is no poetry and Leal could certainly stand to work on his singing voice, it's a pointer of the "born this way" culture that Upon a Burning Body seems to thrive on, and eloquently sums up the Texans' fourth attempt at relevance.
While "The World Is My Enemy Now" was a solid album, it was riddled with overwhelmingly bad tracks, which is something that "Straight from the Barrio" improves upon. Sure, there are no overwhelmingly wonderful tracks (as the album still stands in the long shadow of the band's debut), but there are points awarded for instrumental consistency: heavy breakdowns, some southern-tinged riffs that hearken back to older songs, a slightly djenty and more crisp production value, and good vocals.
This by no means saves or excuses Upon a Burning Body's focus on the generic, but it yields a passable and perhaps even enjoyable listen. We could make the argument that other bands have done it better and will do it better, and they undoubtedly will, but this album stands as an almost perplexing monument. While the lyrics and the sound are generally no different than what we've come to expect from this stubbornly generic deathcore group, a sense of newfound, dare I say, humanity sneaks in to remind us that this is a group of people with pasts and problems after all.
And maybe that's just enough.
