I’ve been writing book reviews since I can’t remember, but writing album reviews is a new-yet-familiar task, an extremely challenging one. Marco told me to give it a shot and try writing something worth posting on the mighty TZEEEAC. He warned me that it’s not an easy job at all, merely because the level of obscure music knowledge and dick jokes on this site is so damn high. But I’ll try to do my best; please don’t judge me too harsh. So here we go.
Thirty Seconds To Mars is a band that went through a lot over the years and their sound changed drastically since their debut album. They experienced everything, from progressive metal and emo, to hard rock and electronic rock. Love Lust Faith + Dreams is their fourth studio album, designed as a concept album divided in 4 parts revolving around the themes after which the record is named, each one being introduced by a female voice at the beginning of a song or the end of an interlude. I liked the foreign influences (they recorded a part of the album in India) and the diversity of both modern and traditional instruments.
The introductory song Birth starts with powerful horns, strings and Jared Leto’s soft vocals and instantly the album has got a rather orchestral, theatrical sound. The lead single of the album, Up In The Air, where the rock elements are mixed with the sounds of synthesizers, turns this song into a catchy arena sing-along track. City Of Angels represents, in my opinion, the highlight of the entire album as it branches out even further and is a piano-driven song. Jared Leto’s vocals are greater than usual, and he has a powerful voice. Let’s not forget about the Northern Lights, which has harmonies and the chorus is amazing. I believe that, as a live performance, this song will be much better compared to the recorded version.
But enough about the best parts of the record, it’s time for its lows. The shittiest song is represented by Convergence, a filler track, just keyboard for 2 minutes. Press skip, ‘cause it adds nothing, just like Pyres Of Varansi. The album is missing something important, the whole time I listened to it I had the feeling that the band is just dancing around that sweet spot that you look for.
Overall, Love Lust Faith + Dreams is an unique and kaleidoscopic piece of art. It’s an ambitious record with a lot of diversity in it, the songs are prepared well and the lyrics are really good but I’m so freaking disappointed that I can’t call it epic. The concept of the album is a great idea, however is not enough to get more than 8/10.
Patricia Chioaru
You are amazing in everything you do, Patty! The review is wonderfully written, I can see your power of judgement, yet open-mindness as well as your creative side. I never heard of this album to be honest, but what do you expect? I am an old going-with-what-I-know kind of person. However, having an insight of what this music is about might drive me to actually listen to some of their stuff. This being said, I am absolutely in awe of your skills and your maturity- way above your years- and I promise you than when- cause it's not a matter of "if"- you're creating your own piece of art that would bring you the fame and recognition you deserve, I will be the first to write a review. You are a gem. Always.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your kind words! To be honest, you made me blush.
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