Hmmm...got the album tonight and gave it two listens; I don't think I've ever been so angry about an album after the first listen before. I really hated it. But I knew I had to listen to it more, and put on my good headphones, pulled out the liner notes and read the lyrics along with each song. I've warmed up to it a bit, but I still think it's the worst album they have put out in a long time, perhaps ever. I'm really struggling to connect to any of the songs - there are few if any hooks, everything is atmospheric at the expense of the solid, rocking rhythm they are famous for, and the songs are dominated by "drum and bass" style production and arrangement at the expense of the dual guitar sound that makes the band what it is.
There are only three songs that grab me at all, "World Possessed...", "Here, In the Dark" and "Machine", although all three leave something to be desired. When I first heard "Possessed", I didn't care for it much; after a few more listens it grew on me, and I like the song now, but it's dying for an anthemic, massive ending - with Johnny Fay pounding away on his kit, while the rest of the boys rock out - however, it just fizzles out instead. "Here, In the Dark" has a really cool grove, but it seems a little "schizophrenic" to me at times. "Machine" is cool, but again, it could have been epic and settles for something less. It is as though they got caught up trying to be "hip", with lots of weird, random, computer generated sounds and effects, at the expense of solid writing and arranging. There aren't any other songs that speak to me at all, at least at this point in time, unfortunately.
I'm curious to see how they treat these songs live; I think "Possessed" and "Machine" could be epic, but the rest of the album seems to be so dependent on things outside of the band to make them what they are it will be difficult for them to reproduce it in front of an audience. I'm guessing that Kevin Drew and Dave Hamelin had a heavy hand in this, and I really think they should have kept their hands off.
Also, there isn't any remarkable musical performance from the band members, it's just all these little parts thrown together, mixed in with a bunch of sound effects. It's in stark contrast to the band's work with Bob Rock; I've been listening to WATS a lot lately (oddly enough, an album that I didn't fully appreciate when it first came out), and while the complaints about the over-production are merited, Bob got amazing performances from each of the members. Gord's best singing can be found on that album - "Honey, Please" in particular - and Johnny Fay was a beast on the drums, with some great guitar work from Robbie Baker. MMP seems like the exact opposite. There is nothing that excites me performance wise on this album; it feels mundane, and boring. I hope that the rest of the album grows on me like "Possessed" has, but even then, I don't think it stands up very well to the rest of their discography. I remember when I heard "Tired as F..." and hoping that the rest of the album wasn't like those first two singles, however, it seems as though my worst fears have been realized. I hope we get at least one more album after this, so they can hopefully move in a different direction, where the strengths of the band are highlighted, not put in a time-out in the corner.
And if you think I'm pinning for "the good old days" of UPT and Road Apples - and while I certainly love me some good rock tunes - my favourite HIp songs are some of their more "off the beaten path" types..."Dark Canuck" would probably be my #1, "Escape @ Hand" (obviously), "New Maybe", "No Threat" and "Morning Moon" all rank highly for me as well. I just can't help to think that the band has been neutered on this record.
