Review Summary: It claims to be a renegade, but it's really just following everyone else.
I've always had a place in my heart for I See Stars. Their first album, 3-D, was a catchy pop post-hardcore effort that had some lackluster songs but enough good ones to stay afloat. Their second LP was more of a straightforward pop punk release, and alienated some fans that had been attracted to the bands' heaviness. I found it a much better album; it was more coherent and catchier, and all of the songs actually stuck out. Sure, it wasn't perfect - it was pretty cheesy, the hardcore elements seemed kinda forced, the production could have been a tad better - but I See Stars finally embraced their strong elements and made a record of it. They knew what they were and what they could do. Now it seems they're not too sure.
Digital Renegade is a self-professed attempt by the band at becoming "heavier", which in the popcore realm means "more screaming and breakdowns". A lot of bands use the promise of becoming heavier as a way to get more sales; unfortunately it doesn't work out too well for I See Stars. It doesn't make them any more unique in any way, shape, or form - this is what EVERY OTHER BAND is doing nowadays. Being heavy with synth-pop is something that bands like Attack Attack has been doing for much longer, and it's been the fad for quite a while now. It'd be one thing if I See Stars had something special of their own to offer to the formula, or even if they just were writing catchy songs using it, but they can't manage either on this album.
The potential this album had is most evident in songs like "NZT48". It works heaviness organically into the song, doesn't force breakdowns and has a sense of coherency about it the rest of the album doesn't seem to share. It seems like the band wrote this, "Electric Forest", and "Filth Friends Unite", then took a bunch of generic choruses, breakdowns, and dubstep, threw it in a box, shook it up, and played the results. It's an approach that never ceases to amaze me with how boring it is to listen to. In fact, this album was released so soon after the last one that it's tempting to think that this is actually how they wrote it. I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest.
Devin Oliver, the person who does the clean vocals (that's right, on this album it's important to distinguish between the two), is once again the highlight of the band, but his hooks don't shine like they did on "The End of the World Party". Often times it seems like the rest of the band just wants to hurry up and get his parts out of the way so they can resume their breakdown fest. He gets almost no chances to showcase his talent, restricted to singing choruses that might as well be Benadryl with they way they put me to sleep. His best track is "Electric Forest", where he duets with Cassadee Pope from Hey Monday. It's definitely the highlight of the album, and it doesn't even stick out that much compared to their earlier stuff.
And that's a good way to sum up Digital Renegade. It just doesn't stick out, at all. It's not offensively bad or anything, and the three tracks I mentioned are actually worth checking out if you're already a fan of the band, but it's a boring, forgettable effort, and it kills the momentum I felt they were building up with their last album. If you want pop with screaming and breakdowns, listen to Breathe Carolina. If you want hardcore mixed with electronica, listen to Sky Eats Airplane and The Algorithm. And if you want good, exciting music, don't listen to Digital Renegade.
