Review Summary: By no means a failure, even if the experimentation yields somewhat mixed results.
Three years ago when I See Stars released New Demons, they were pretty much at the top of their game. They'd just released the quintessential electronicore album, loaded with slick production, strong rhythms and melodies, and great vocals. They'd established themselves as the best in a polarizing genre. Then, two years later, they decide to cut two of their core band members: their main screamer/keyboardist and their rhythm guitarist. Was it inevitable that change was coming? Maybe, but I still kept my hopes up.
Oddly enough, the first two singles that were released ("Mobbin' Out" and "Running With Scissors") are actually two of the *only* tracks exhibit the sound we'd heard over the last two ISS albums. Someone else in the band took up the screaming duties, and thankfully he's not too bad at it; we just don't get to hear him do it much. The third single "Break" shows us more of what this album really is; still electronic-induced rock/post-hardcore, but now mostly scream-less and occasionally bringing in some slight pop tendencies.
That's not to say that what they've done is straight-up terrible, because it definitely isn't. "Break" is an album highlight with a catchy melody to it and more good vocals. But it's quite the change for them, and often when bands make big changes, it's going to be a mixed effort with some things that work better than others. That's basically the way this album goes. There are some very strong tracks, some forgettable ones, and one or two missteps.
It pretty much stands to reason that "Mobbin' Out" and "Running With Scissors" are two of the album highlights as well for anyone who favored the last two albums. Besides that, some of the highlights include the aforementioned "Break," the beautifully produced more-ambient "Walking on Gravestones," and the closer "Yellow King." "Calm Snow" is a good opener too; its only real flaw is that it ends too fast and a bit abruptly too. As before, the production is still slick and the clean vocals are still strong, so all is good there.
However, among other things, they do experiment with a slight basic-rock/pop sound occasionally. "Everyone's Safe in the Treehouse" is an example, and it's a pretty forgettable track. "Two Hearted," on the other hand, gives off a 30 Seconds to Mars "Kings and Queens" vibe and what you would get if you threw in keyboarding. "All In" doesn't exhibit this sound, but it is definitely the sore spot of the album. They experiment with a bit of trap, and it falls flat on its face. The vocalist even raps a bit, and the song actually ends up giving a bit of an Issues vibe of all things. The irony of the song is that the lyrics go something like "We taking the risks, we all in." Well, good for them; let's just hope we never hear a song like that from them again.
Besides all of that, there's some tracks that are just forgettable like "White Lies" and "Portals" (even though that one is one of the few to retain screams). That said, none of the songs on this album are straight up bad (save for "All In"); some of them just aren't memorable at all. It's not a bad album; it's a decent experimentation album. It will probably receive mixed reception; some fans who loved them before may dislike this one, and those who didn't care about them much before may finally find something to appreciate. It's a turning point in the band's career as they try to figure out their identity, and although it will be interesting to see where they go from here, we'll also hope they work out some of the kinks by their next effort. And hopefully it won't take three years this time.
Song Highlights: "Mobbin' Out," "Walking on Gravestones," "Break," "Running With Scissors," "Yellow King"
