Review Summary: Just another sophomore slump, I suppose...
When Nine Lashes's first album came out, I thought that there was room for improvement, but that there was some good material on there as well. Now that their sophomore release comes about, one has to wonder how it's going to sound. Well, here's what they said before the album came out: "We really wanted to take the digital aspect of our last album, like the 'Anthem' intro or 'The Intervention,' and expand upon it."
Well, that doesn't sound like a bad idea per se. I mean, "The Intervention" was a very good song. But what's the actual result?
Okay. Put RED's Release the Panic and Linkin Park's Living Things in a blender. Add a bit of pop in there as well. And you pretty much have From Water to War. And the result is not really what I had hoped for.
This is not to say the album is bad, per se. "Break the World," the lead single, is a great song. What's unfortunate is that the song is far too easily the best thing the album has to offer. What's some other highlights? Ummm... "In the Dark," which has some really good guitar work in it, and the closer "Cover Your Own," which has a pretty nice catchy tune. And despite being repetitive, "Lights We Burn" manages to somewhat stay on its feet (limping, but at least it's on its feet).
So what about the rest of the album? Well, people have been raving about the second single, "Surrender." Fact is? It's just another hit CCM single. Of course it's going to get almost more attention than "Break the World" or the other two tracks which deserve far more attention. "Never Back Down" is mildly catchy, but it just doesn't keep my interest.
The biggest problem with the album is that they take the "digital aspect" way too far. Like I said, what they did on "The Intervention"--or even "Anthem of the Lonely"--was great. But here, they take it too far. Things get way too poppy or even techno-ish in places, and with the exception of "Cover Your Own," it all just feels awkward and sloppy.
Awkward and sloppy is actually the perfect way to describe the majority of the album. But we'll give it this much--for a sophomore slump of sorts, it could've been much worse. The Letter Black knows all about that, who had a horrendous sophomore effort. Nine Lashes at least has a few songs on here that are worth listening to. But as a whole, they've gone from limping to being on crutches.
