Review Summary: It doesn't have to be like this
Will Toledo, Will Toledo, what to do with you? The man who could allegedly do it all, the boy was 11 years old, has made a concerning mistake, can he be forgiven.
The original Teens of Denial is hard to explain, despite being neither a teen nor denial Will Toledo gave us an invitation into a world where he tried drugs and said "wtf, not for me". That Will Toledo has been captured and kidnapped by an imposter.
The man you hear on this album is less of an artist and more of a vessel, a construction of a thousand little green men who are deciding his every move, misled by the call of a his stomach gurgling. They believe this is a higher power expressing displeasure, rather than the body's natural need for nourishment, leaving us with a misguided attempt to correct the past and rewrite history.
The new songs if you can call them that are what you would expect. Will Toledo is singing and the lyrics are coming out of his mouth, but never before has he felt more ignorable, especially when the only thing you can focus on is the drums that sound like they are about to rob you at gunpoint. The lack of no no words sounds like it shouldn't matter but it does, the album is about being a teenager, and if you've met a teenager you know they are sooooo annoying and definitely say those words regardless so it doesn't matter.
At the end of the day, who even knows who Will Toledo is anymore? He could be a new Rivers Cuomo, the glasses, the hat, etc. Or he could be the new Will Toledo, refreshed , improved, energised, and ready to eat the world in his singular hand. Only time will tell.
