Mike Shinoda "Post Traumatic" Album Review

By: James Southworth
Rating: 4/5 Stars

There were so many heart wrenching losses of well-known people in the music world last year. One of the most significant was Chester Bennington, lead singer of Linkin Park, one of my top 10 favorite bands ever. Chester passed away by suicide. This loss was pretty heavy, especially in light of an album that seemed to be thematically all about Chester moving on from his dark past. It's not surprising that one of the people affected the hardest by this was Mike Shinoda, co-vocalist of LP as well as Chester's closest friend. In fact, they were more like brothers. With everything being so uncertain, I was wondering what Shinoda would do next. I felt for him immensely in having to deal with something so tough. What ended up happening is Shinoda releasing a masterpiece of a solo album entitled "Post Traumatic". I've been listening to this album fairly consistently, trying to make sure all my thoughts on this album came out accurately. This release tackles a powerful thematic arc: dealing with loss, as well as moving past it and trying to find release. It's also musically incredible, with almost every song on here being extremely well produced and well written.

In my opinion, it's fitting that the album begins on a hopeful and redemptive note, as that is the arc this release as a whole goes on. There are some undeniably dark moments throughout, but Mike needed to be honest about the dark places in order for the places of hope to come to fruition. "Place to Start" is quiet and meditative, with subtle yet effective electronics dominating the musical background. This song is only a little over 2 minutes, but Mike does a good job of establishing the main idea of the album in just a few concise lyrical bits: "Cause I'm tired of the fear that I can't control this/I'm tired of feeling like every next step's hopeless/I'm tired of being scared what I build might break apart/I don't want to know the end, all I want is a place to start". That's really what this album is about: Mike looking the hopelessness in his life dead in the eye, and moving past it to try to find a new way to live. This song already got me feeling a little emotional, and it was only the beginning. I actually cried the first time I heard the lead single "Over Again", which is still one of the best moments on this album. Mike lets out some uncomfortably raw sadness in this song, pouring out how hard it was to perform that live concert that was a tribute to Chester. I saw a good portion of that concert, and I could tell it was hard for the whole of Linkin Park to perform without Chester there. I wouldn't call this song an easy listen because of how brutal it is, but it's a necessary brutality. The chorus offers a simple but hard truth about the nature of losing someone: "Sometimes you don't say goodbye once/You say goodbye over and over and over again". The booming electronics give this song the intensity it deserves, with Shinoda viscerally spitting out the lyrics to the verses in a compelling fashion. I love this song, and the fact that it's not even my favorite on the album speaks volumes to the quality the rest of this release has to offer.

"Watching As I Fall" is a song that is very easy to sing along to, especially in its chorus. The song is still heart breaking, though, as Mike discusses how for the longest time it was so hard for him to be out in public, and he talks about how he distanced himself from everyone around him. This song, once again, is sort of like a therapy for Shinoda, him being honest about the steps he had to go through to overcome such a big change in his life. I feel bad for ever calling Mike's singing underwhelming in "One More Light", but maybe that's because the softer guitar tones didn't suit him. His singing voice works immensely well throughout this more electronic heavy album, and that definitely goes for this track. Yet another chilling track appears in "Nothing Makes Sense Anymore", which is probably the most harrowing portrayal lyrically of how broken Mike was inside after he lost Chester: "I’m a call without an answer/I’m a shadow in the dark/Trying to put it back together/As I watch it fall apart". If you can't tell already, I love the lyrical content this album has to offer. Shinoda proves himself to be a stellar writer throughout this release. The visual imagery this song has to offer is haunting. You would have to be hard pressed to not find something to like musically in this track, as it shifts from a brooding ballad to having some more intense, rock tinged moments in it. "About You" isn't one of my top favorites from the album, but I find it interesting in how Mike expresses his frustration about how every song he writes may unavoidably be about Chester in some way. I can understand his frustration on this; he's so intrinsically connected to this loss that he may never be able to remove it in his writing. I also found blackbear's feature in this song surprisingly good; he really works well in the track.

After the amazing instrumental "Brooding" (which sounds like it could be right at home on the LP release "Minutes to Midnight"), we get "Promises I Can't Keep", which is one of the several tracks on this album that sounds like it'd be right at home on a Linkin Park album. No one should be surprised by this, as the LP sound is a part of Mike just as much as something like Fort Minor is. I find the more LP-sounding tracks to be some of the best on this release, and it's awesome that so many of them appear in the second half of the album. This song in particular sounds like it would fit right at home on "A Thousand Suns", as Mike's vocals sound like his style from that album. This track has an interesting idea in that Shinoda discusses how the fear of the unknown often can make him unreliable as a person. This is the first indication on the album we get of a song not about Chester, and I think it's clever that Mike put this track pretty much directly after "About You". I love the combination of electronics and guitars in this track, and Mike's vocals are incredibly strong. "Crossing a Line" is perhaps the most hopeful and upbeat song on this album, as Shinoda discusses how he is going in a new place in his musical journey, and he is excited for the prospects it offers. This song ended up getting me emotional in a different way from "Over Now", as this song shows Mike actively pursuing happiness and choosing strength. The confidence this song exudes never comes across as arrogant, but instead is very heart warming. I love the vibe the musicality of this track gives off, especially in the criminally catchy chorus. We get another upbeat song after this one in "Ghosts" which uses ghosts as a metaphor for the unknown. The unknown is looked at as a positive in this track, as Mike states that we need to interact with things that are mysterious to us, and maybe even have fun figuring out things we don't understand. I think this track is fairly underrated as far as the album as a whole goes.

 "I.O.U." is straight up intense, with Mike practically screaming out the lyrics. He is delightfully venomous here and clearly having a fun time. I didn't really expect such a banger on this album, but we get it, and it's an absolute treat. This album's ending three tracks are all incredible, and give this album an emotional gut punch of an ending. "Running From My Shadow" is my favorite track on the album, as it has a lot of rock tendencies in it. This song has a really intense beat, and Mike's singing here is at its best. What might make me like this track more than anything, though, is that Mike's rapping style actually evokes his style from "Meteora", which I would have never expected at this point in his career. It put the biggest smile on my face. This song even has similar thematic ideas to that album as Shinoda discusses in detail about how he doesn't always face the darker parts of himself: "Light side’s got a dark side to it/Daytime flows into night like fluid/The yin and the yang with a curved line through it/And none of it’s illuminating why I do it". I found grandson's feature here pretty compelling as well, especially when he lets loose some pretty intense screams near the end of the track. Things slow down a bit with "World's On Fire", which is Mike's sweet dedication to his wife being there for him. And then there's "Can't Hear You Now", the third track on this album that made me emotional. There's not many albums that can do that to me. This song is dedicated to Chester, as Mike actually speaks in Chester's perspective, sort of accepting that he is gone and that Mike has to move on from this loss. This song musically works well, too, with the electronic soundscape giving this track the emotional heft it requires. This song may sound dark, but I think it's actually hopeful in a compelling way.

There's only one track on this album that doesn't work for me and that would be "Make It Up As I Go". I think it's more because I can't stand featured vocalist K. Flay. Shinoda sounds fine enough against the track, although I do think music-wise this track's production is a bit weaker in comparison to the rest of the album. "Post Traumatic" is an incredible achievement that I can't praise enough. Mike Shinoda lets loose all of his emotion about Chester Bennington's passing in honest, powerful, uncomfortable, and compelling ways. There was hardly a moment in this album's 16-track, 53-minute run time where I wasn't fully invested. What makes this album even more powerful is that Mike doesn't let Chester's passing entirely define him. He shows time and time again that he wants to continue to live and do the stuff he loves, because that is what Chester would have wanted. I love this album, and can't recommend it enough. It is one of the best explorations of dealing with loss I've ever seen. Don't miss out on this release, as not only is it one of Mike's best works, but it also has great potential to be my favorite album of the year.

Favorite Songs: "Running From My Shadow", "Nothing Makes Sense Anymore", "Over Again", "Promises I Can't Keep", "I.O.U."
Least Favorite Songs: "Make It Up As I Go", "Lift Off"

Lecrae X Zaytoven "Let The Trap Say Amen" Album Review

By: James Southworth
Rating: 1.5/5 Stars

I'm really, REALLY, dreading this review. I have always had an immense amount of respect for Christian rapper Lecrae, and still do. He was the first rapper I got into, and he was a gateway for me getting into other Christian rappers, as well as eventually listening to secular rap (even though I'll admit the amount of rap in general I listen to nowadays is low). I have always felt Lecrae created a nice bridge between people who were fans of Christian vs. fans of secular rap. He's tried to tear the stereotypes down surrounding both genres. As he's gotten more well-known, his ability to do so has become more significant. He took a huge step into the mainstream last year with "All Things Work Together", an album which mostly sounded completely different for Lecrae while still keeping his Christ-centered message intact. I've actually grown to appreciate the album a little more, especially in how its lyrics are a bit more challenging in their messages like on "Facts" and "Cry For You". Lecrae's newest album, "Let The Trap Say Amen" is his definitive message saying he wants to remain in the mainstream while still talking about God. This album is a collaboration with well-known producer Zaytoven, and is entirely of the trap style, which Lecrae has never done before. I hate to say it, but this album is almost entirely horrible. Lecrae succumbs to the most generic conventions of the trap style, is seen flexing and giving generic messages about God, and most songs on here are insufferably drowned in auto tune and a sense of overwhelming boredom.

There are only a couple tracks on this album that really work for me, and trust me, I had to really sift through this album to really find ones that were good. "Plugged In" is certainly the best song on this album, having the best usage of Lecrae's foray into trap. I find the beat to be a good amount of fun. In fact, I will say that even on several of the weaker tracks here, Zaytoven proves himself to be a good producer and making some solid beats (it's unfortunately Lecrae that weighs this release down so significantly). I think any fan of trap as well as general Lecrae fans will find something to love in this track. Lyrically it's also pretty solid, as Crae talks honestly about how dangerous the streets are in regards to selling drugs, but that's unfortunately the only way of life some people have known for so long. I like how he relates this to a desire to help your family out, although the life of selling drugs on the street is not ultimately beneficial. Even though "2 Sides of the Game" is a bit repetitive, I do find it to be a fun enough song. Waka Flocka Flame and Lecrae prove to have solid chemistry together, and the backing beat is interesting enough to keep me engaged. The closing track "No Chance" is the only track here that really reminded me of old Lecrae, in regards to his rapping style and the lyrical content. I wish there had been a couple more songs like it, because this album would've been so much better. It's also nice that Verse Simmonds provides the singing on this song, as it's so much better than the "singing" that we get on the rest of this release.

This opening track and lead single "Get Back Right" was the only song I listened to prior to this album's release. It already had me worried for what this album would sound like, and my concerns  were justified. Now, I will say, I understand what Lecrae is trying to do with this album. So often, trap is considered to be a style that is associated with negative messages, and just a general sense of empty bragging, and no substance. Lecrae has said his goal with this album was to make trap with valuable Christian insights, trying to show that the negative stereotypes of trap aren't always true. This lead single does not prove that at all. The "chorus" of this song just says the title of the song over and over, in a fashion similar to the annoying rap trio Migos. Lecrae is drowned in obvious auto tune, as he tries to do some singing on this song. After hearing the rest of this album, I can tell you with unwavering confidence that he can't sing at all, and auto tune does not help him in the slightest. The lyrics on this track are all over the place, talking about Lecrae's faith in God in one moment but then confusingly transitioning to talking about how successful he is. "Preach" is obnoxiously cheesy as Lecrae says in the hook "Preacher preach, I got the Jesus piece/I got the God in me, don't need the ice or chain". I guess Lecrae is trying to be relatable to a young audience, but this just comes across as cringe worthy to me more than anything. Maybe this song isn't meant to be taken seriously, but even at that the song isn't funny in the slightest. If I heard this song without knowing it was Lecrae, I probably would have never associated it with him. Crae is far too talented for this dreck, as this is by far one of the weakest songs on the album.

"Holy Water" is a little better than most of the bad songs on here, but that's mainly because of the beat, and there's a hook that I think could get stuck in your head. But still, the hook mostly feels lifeless. Lecrae is, again, just repeating the title of the song without any interesting variations to it. The message of this song makes sense, that Lecrae doesn't need a fancy church or anything to do God's work. But didn't he already nail that message much better in "Church Clothes"? I just can't help but wonder what the point of this track was when this message has been done to death. "Blue Strips" has a bit of a confusing message where it seems like Lecrae is bragging about the club life, and how he could get all the girls and alcohol. But then there's a verse where Lecrae is talking about this prostitute, and how he doesn't want to judge her, but he also wants to show her that there are other ways of living. It's a weird message when the song goes back to the chorus where Lecrae is talking again about enjoying the night club type of life. It doesn't help that musically this song gets grating very quickly, with even Zaytoven's production values sounding like garbage. We get an annoying duo of songs after this with "Only God Can Judge Me" and "Yet". I think the reason the pairing of these two songs makes me so angry is how much they contradict each other. On the former, Lecrae talks about how he only looks to God to judge him and doesn't care about criticism (yeah sure you don't, you made a whole song about it). He also claims that he "could" flex on people but he doesn't. Wow, what a humble brag. And then, on "Yet", what does Lecrae do? He flexes. I'm not even kidding, the whole song is him bragging about how he still has plenty of success along the way, and how he doesn't make his songs with the intent to win a Grammy (which is a weird thing to boast about). These two songs are some of the only songs where I've legitimately hated Crae's personality. It comes across as arrogant and insincere, like he's just putting on a fake persona.

The ending of this album is overall a bit more forgettable, but that doesn't mean there's still some bad stuff here. Lecrae continues to brag, although it comes across mostly just tiresome rather than angering in these last moments. "I Can't Lose" is a pretty typical pump-up song, where Lecrae talks about how nothing will stop him in continuing to pursue what he's looking for. I'm not sure what's stopping him, but okay. "Switch" has Lecrae talking about how he's switched so many things about himself for the better, including his lifestyle, his wife, his bigger house, etc. So, it looks like Lecrae is flexing again, even though he said in "Only God Can Judge Me" that he doesn't flex on people. It was at this point that I realized that song was my least favorite, as every other song following it contradicts its main sentiment. It's almost definitely my least favorite Lecrae song ever. Also, have you noticed yet how I've barely been able to point out many Christ centered messages in this album? That's because they're very few and far between. It wouldn't matter to me so much, but Lecrae said the purpose of this album was for Christian-centered trap music. He does talk about God on this album. However, it only seems like he talks about him in vaguely drawn-out sentiments, rather than the hard-hitting messages he's done so well in the past. "Can't Block It" has a cliched message of not letting critics and naysayers getting to your head, and "Fly Away" has a very forgettable feature from nobigdyl. Apparently that rapper is supposed to be a big deal in the Christian music scene. After hearing this song, I wouldn't complain if I never heard from him again.

Like I said at the beginning of this review, I dreaded writing it. But I had to be harsh for a reason. Lecrae has made so much quality on pretty much every album of his. I would even say for the problems I have with Lecrae's last album, there were still plenty of good tracks to make up for the weaker ones. I just can't say the same for "Let The Trap Say Amen". From its cheesy title to its shallow lyrics to Lecrae's incredibly weak, auto tune drowned vocal performance, there is just no way this album can compare at all to any of his previous work. I'm really hoping that this release was more just an experiment by Lecrae to see how it was received. I hope there's something better from him in the next couple years. This album is straight up disappointing, and sometimes made me angry because I know Lecrae's potential. Besides the couple of good tracks I mentioned, you should probably skip out on this album unless you're an avid Lecrae fan.

Favorite Songs: "Plugged In", "No Chance", "2 Sides of the Game"
Least Favorite Songs: "Only God Can Judge Me", "Preacher, "Switch", "Yet", "Blue Strips", "Fly Away"

"Thoroughbreds" Movie Review

By: James Southworth
Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

I continue to think that movie going audiences are taking for granted the golden age of horror we are in right now. Just think: there was a time when most horror films were awful, uninspired, and often just remakes of already used ideas. Now I consider many horror films to be among the most original movies that are released right now. I will always appreciate a movie that can scare me and be highly enjoyable in other ways at the same time. "Thoroughbreds" had a lot of pressure on its shoulders to be good for me, as it fits more under the teen thriller genre. Thankfully, this film about two teenage girls with an awkward friendship vowing together to commit a heinous deed, is amazing. It has two excellent lead performances, as well as an understated support performance. It also shows that director and writer Cory Finley has a solid grasp on how to make an interesting fusion of horror and black comedy.

A lot of what works best in this movie is its amazing writing. I read where this movie was originally planned to be a play. After watching it, I could certainly see this movie working well on a stage setting if Finley ever decided to do so. This film has a slick hour and a half run-time. I would normally complain that time is way too short, but for a movie like this, that run-time is perfect. Thankfully, Finley doesn't waste a single minute of the run-time this film has. There's not one minute of the movie that feels purposeless. I was invested in every minute, sitting on the edge of my seat. There were constant twist and turns throughout the film. The relationship between main characters Amanda and Lily consistently shifts, so you have to be on your toes. Speaking of good writing, both of the main characters are written incredibly well, with pretty much equal screen time dedicated to both of them. Amanda's dead-pan, no nonsense personality provides an intriguing contrast to Lily's volatile, emotional character arc. Because of how different these characters are, there are many moments in the movie where they don't understand each other's sense of humor, and that creates some ingenious dark comedy. This movie is often straight up hilarious and shocking in just how darkly honest it gets. It explores the full extent of how deceiving and evil humans can be. It shows how we can fake emotion to disguise our deeper motives. It's a bleak commentary for sure, but thankfully the movie has enough comedy to not entirely drag its audience into the abyss. Still, you should be prepared to go into this movie ready for some dark thematic content. The writing throughout is just consistently sharp, with so many witty and interesting lines thrown into the mix. The film even does a pretty cool thing of having horses being a motif throughout the film. The payoff for what the horses represent is actually quite interesting. The movie doesn't spoon feed you what they represent, but it's still easy to figure out through the implications. Those are signs of some absolutely expert writing.

There is a horror element of this film for sure as well, and I think that like with the black comedy, Finley nails it. The horror aspects of this movie are not quite as consistent but when they do appear, I enjoyed them immensely. There is some incredible suspense drawn out in several scenes due to excellently executed long shots. There is one in particular near the end of the film that is one long shot of a Amanda sleeping while a murder is going on upstairs. The interesting part of this is that the movie never shows the murder happening. Instead it just consistently closes up on Amanda sleeping. All we can hear is the sounds upstairs. The movie leaves it up to your imagination to picture how brutal the murder is, which is much more frightening to me. This stays consistent with the movie's frank, violent dialogue that more than makes up for the lack of violent imagery. Lily does end up coming downstairs, covered in blood and crying uncontrollably. It's such a haunting scene which gives you exactly everything you need to know without being overbearing. The suspense in this movie works just because Finley knows how to toe the line between subtle violence and over the top gore. This movie is dark enough to make the suspenseful moments feel all the more visceral and real. This isn't what I would call a movie that will give you cold chills, but it will still make you tense up and be constantly on edge. That works just as well for me, and is in my opinion, an underrated way of presenting horror on screen.

Bringing this film all together is all of the memorable performances by a game cast. There is not one person in this cast who I would call a weak element, as both the leads and supports have their moments to shine. The leads are definitely what will draw a lot of people to this movie, and I don't think many will be disappointed with what they get. Olivia Cooke as Amanda continues to prove herself as an exciting actress who continues to hone her abilities. I haven't seen her play a role quite like Amanda before. She completely disappears into the role, giving us a performances that interestingly traipses between her being deadpan as well as naive. Cooke keeps her character constantly engaging, especially in how cynically honest Amanda is about humanity as a whole. There's a definite implication throughout this movie that Amanda has a mental illness, but Cooke never makes the illness feel offensive. In fact, it's that mental illness that brought me to sympathize with her and understand where she was coming from. It's not like this illness entirely defines her character, and I don't think that was Finley's intent. It's just a part of who she is. Anya-Taylor Joy is just as good in her performance of Lily. It's been amazing to watch Joy become a consistently better actress with each film she's been in. I loved her in "The Witch" and "Split", and her performance here might actually be even better than those two films. Joy gives Lily an interesting similarity to Amanda in her cynicism towards people, though her cynicism comes from a raw and emotional place rather than Amanda's more logical reasoning. Lily has the more dynamic character arc in this film; it's really engaging to see where she goes from start to end of the film. Joy had a pretty tough transformation to nail, as she had to try to get the audience to sympathize with her even though she's undeniably not a good person. Joy does so well at drawing sympathy, though. She is an actress that needs to be watched. Cooke and Joy's chemistry throughout the film is completely spot-on. I loved the unpredictable relationship between these two characters, as it's the driving force of the plot. This movie does great at showcasing the talent of both of these young actresses. I can't go without praising the performance of Anton Yelchin as Tim. This is unfortunately his last performance we'll see from him, as he passed away back in 2016. Yelchin plays a drug dealer and dead beat, who is older than both Amanda and Lily. Even though on initial glance it seems like he should be the antagonist of the show, he's actually the character who draws the most sympathy, as he ends up trapped in something that he never wanted to be a part of. Yelchin makes Tim a very likeable character for the brief time he's in the film; his performance should not go forgotten. I also will give an honorable mention to Paul Sparks as Lily's stepfather Mark. He brings menace and a surprising amount of nuance to this character. For how all around purely despicable this guy is, Sparks still does a great job at making you want to know more about him.

The problems I have with this film are very minimal. I think the only main issue I have with it is that the ending is slightly underwhelming. I understand why the movie ended the way it did, and it's not like the conclusion was without purpose. But, I still somewhat feel that the ending should've matched up with the full-throttle pace the rest of the movie was going at. This criticism does not factor that much at all into my overall enjoyment of the film as a whole. "Thoroughbreds" is visually interesting, filled with razor-sharp writing and dark comedic wit, has suspense that is very creative, and contains two lead performances that shouldn't be missed. I liked this movie way more than I expected to, and certainly expect it to end up being high up in my favorite movies of the year. Watch this; it is definitely worth your time!

Tremonti "A Dying Machine" Album Review

By: James Southworth
Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

If you've listened to the hard rock band Alter Bridge at any point in your life, then you are most certainly aware of the acclaimed lead guitarist for that band, Mark Tremonti. You may have heard that name even if you aren't familiar with the aforementioned group, because Tremonti is considered to be one of the best modern guitarists around. I personally heavily agree with that sentiment, as he has always been a highlight of every AB release. So, I was of course delighted to find out that he has a side band of his own simply called "Tremonti". I don't know how I'd never heard them before, but my YouTube recommended feed showed the lyric video for Tremonti's single "A Dying Machine", and I was instantly hooked (more on that song very soon). So, how does this heavy metal band's fourth release fare? Well, in my honest opinion, not only is it an all around superb album, it is also one of my favorite releases of 2018 so far.

This album gets off to an excellent start with "Bringer Of War", which ignites the fuse for the rest of this release in a great way. We start off with some quiet acoustic guitar work, and then the song suddenly explodes with some impressively fast guitar and drum work. This song is pure fun, inviting us all to participate in a war. Even though, Tremonti says, we might lose it, it would be better to join the fight rather than turn away. I'm sure that the band is talking about a metaphorical war. While using war for symbolism is something that's been done a lot, this song is still too enjoyable to resist. The guitar solo coming near the end blew me away, and gives you a good sampling of Mark's godly talent on lead guitar. There's hardly a moment on here when I wasn't just in awe of his playing abilities. His vocals are nothing to scoff at, either. Just look at the title track for evidence of how great Tremonti's vocals are. This song was what got me hooked on this band, and it's easily my favorite off this album. Running over six minutes, this song runs the gamut of emotions. It starts off with some pounding guitar riffs, and Mark's vocals come in a delightfully aggressive way. The song suddenly shifts pace unexpectedly in the chorus, having a slow, brooding build-up. The chorus has some of the best lyrical content I've heard from any song this year: "Look at you now, you’re a dying machine/Cold and disfigured, corrupted, diseased/Again, you’ve come back, oh, I’ll die in this place/Mechanical cradle, synthetic embrace". It's chilling how compellingly Tremonti compares the emotional state of someone to a machine, showing how callous they've become to the world around them. I don't want to spoil for you all the musical movements this song goes through, because each moment in this song offers an unexpected surprise. This song is the whole package as far as a truly masterful track goes: incredible instrumentation, impassioned vocals, and emotionally haunting lyrics. Because of how much this song has spoken to me, it has high potential to be my favorite song of the year. I'm not kidding; it's that good!

You would think with the vast praises I've given to this release's title track that no other song following it could possibly live up to the expectations that track has. But, you'd be wrong. The songs following this track are very close in quality, some of the tracks being near equals, which is just impressive. "Trust" has one of the most legitimately beautiful choruses on this album. I love Tremonti's vocal harmonies that he does, and the beauty in his voice gives weight to the song's theme of trusting in people despite the hardships of your past. Something I noticed about this release is that it discusses very common themes we see in many hard rock/metal releases. But the band does such a good job of manipulating these themes into something new and refreshing. "Throw Them To the Lions" is a pure rock banger. It's not a particularly deep track, but it doesn't need to be. If you aren't singing along to this track at the top of your lungs, then I have to wonder what's wrong with you. The intensity of the album continues at full throttle with "Make It Hurt". I feel like this song has some subtle punk influences in it. The drumming in this track in particular really stands out to me; it makes the song very interesting. The chorus of this track is so freaking catchy. I was able to sing along with it only within my second listen. This track has been stuck in my head, and I don't mind that at all. Overall the first half of this album has more fun tracks (though it's not without its serious moments). That gives you time to prepare for the emotionally weighty content a vast majority of the second half of this album offers. It starts with "Traipse" which broods with a dark, menacing atmosphere. This track is probably the most intense on the album in terms of lyrical content, as Tremonti discusses how easy it is to give in to your darkest instincts. He uses disturbingly vibrant visual imagery to do so: "Cold is the light of your sun/Stripping away the love/When me and the deep become one/The rapture again is gone/Oh let me, let me down". This song is pretty unique in context of this release as a whole, making it one of my favorites.

It surprised me how much I was touched by the relationship centered track "The First The Last". Maybe it's because, unlike so many of its break up song counterparts, Tremonti knows how to frame a relationship that was very important to him. You get the feeling of the full weight of this relationship as he says this person was both the first and last person he loved, and he lost everything when they left. The lyrical content is so vague as to make me think that maybe this track is about a loved one who passed away, which would make this track all the more haunting. Tremonti's vocals soar in the chorus, and he really takes them to new heights he hadn't previously explored. Following this track is "A Lot Like Sin", which isn't one of the better tracks on the album, but is fun none the less. If you're looking for a really impressive metal onslaught, then look to the almost thrash-influenced "The Day When Legions Burned". This track's pacing is incredibly fast, and boasts some of the most technically proficient guitar and drum work by the band as a whole. This song is a chance for the whole band to show off, and they don't waste the song's only 3-minute run-time. This track also has some epic Greek imagery in its lyrics, which gives you the full scale of the destruction that the character in this track desires to wreak. As the album begins to wind down, we get another major highlight in the ballad "As The Silence Becomes Me". Thankfully, the song lives up to its compelling title. This song is tragic and depressing, as Tremonti says how he used to have people who cared about him, but now it's only silence that accepts him: "Forgotten the time it takes/Years go by and I'm forsaken, oh, again/So come now and sit with me/I alone wait to meet the end/But don't you wait, my friend". This song gave me cold chills when I realized it was about death. Tremonti draws out this metaphor so subtly that you can miss it if you're not paying attention. But it's impossible to, especially with the gorgeous vocal harmonies and the beautiful acoustic guitar. "Take You With Me" is thankfully the redemption to the other track's tragedy, as it has a much brighter sound to it than any other song on this album does. It's powerful that this response song has another character (perhaps even a different side of Tremonti himself) saying that he'll take him and accept him for who he is. A big theme of this album seems to be realizing how easy it is to let other people hurt you; the person intentionally scarring you may even be yourself.  The only way to overcome the deep wounds is self-acceptance.

It's really too bad that two of the weaker tracks on this album come at the very end. "Desolation" takes away the redemptive arc that "Take You With Me" provided. Instead, Tremonti falls back down a road of doubt and self-loathing. This could be a commentary on how easy it is for us to fall back into negative tendencies, but I just don't like this track for how vague it is. It makes you feel uncertain rather than having a satisfying closure. I really think this track should've appeared in the middle of the album rather than the end. The last song on this album is "Found", an instrumental. With how much I've been complimenting the talent of the musicians, you'd think that an instrumental would be a great way to end out this album. It disappointed me just how boring this track was, through and through. There wasn't a single thing about it that compelled me; I just found myself wanting it to be over. It's only about four minutes, but that time seriously drags. This is the weakest song on the album. I'd suggest that you skip the last two tracks and instead end the album on "Take You With Me", because that gives the best possible ending for this release. Another track I have a bit of a problem with is "From The Sky". It's not horrible (in fact I have to admit it's catchy), but I don't like that it relies on "whoa"'s for its chorus. But that's more of a nitpick, because I generally enjoy the song as a whole.

Besides those two ending tracks, I honestly believe that Tremonti's "A Dying Machine" is an excellent album. The energy of this release hardly ever lets up, with tracks building up on the thematic arcs of the previous ones and expanding them. As a band, Tremonti is impressively talented on every front, from the writing to the vocals to the musicianship. If you want a metal album where you can clearly tell that the band are veterans who know what you are doing, this group is a great option. This is definitely one of my favorite albums of the year, and even has potential to end up in my top 3 of 2018!

Favorite Songs: "A Dying Machine", "As The Silence Becomes Me", "Traipse", "Trust", "The First The Last", "Make It Hurt"
Least Favorite Songs: "Found", "Desolation"

"Upgrade" Movie Review

By: James Southworth
Rating: 4/5 Stars

Out of all the up and coming horror directors out there, one of the most exciting that comes to mind, for me, is Leigh Whannell. He's worked closely for years with James Wan, who continues to be my favorite horror director of all time. You could see some of Wan's style, especially his unique camera work techniques, bleeding into Whannell's directorial debut "Insidious: Chapter 3". While I don't think that one is as good as Chapter 1 or 2, I still find it to be a very good horror film, and one that deserves more recognition than what it got. I was excited to see what Leigh would do with "Upgrade" after seeing a cool-looking trailer. In a futuristic world, main character Grey, a self-professes technophobe, loses his wife in a brutal murder. He is left paralyzed by his wife's killers, until a technology called Stem is put into him, which gives him some unbelievable abilities. In my opinion, this movie is incredibly innovative and interesting, doing so much with its surprisingly low budget, as well as boasting an excellent lead performance from Logan Marshall-Green.

What I think will draw (and should draw) audiences to this film is its style. That is certainly what is, for me, the best part of the movie. Whannell makes this movie immediately identifiable in the midst of so many other science fiction/horror films. It shocked me when I found out that this movie was only about 3 million dollars in budget. But, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that Whannell is certainly used to working on movies with even lower budgets. So, Leigh uses his budget here to its fullest extent. There's not a moment in this film where I felt the futuristic world was fake. I liked how interesting it looked. There was a really cool moment where Grey is getting Stem installed in him. As the camera moves over his body, his skeletal structure flashes in and out of existence. It's such a short moment, but it's a prime example that shows how much Leigh cares about his craft. Eron's lair in general is cool looking. This movie has an interesting world of people in it, too. It doesn't seem that there are a whole lot of people who are strictly human anymore. A lot of them actually have weaponry and other types of technology implanted in their bodies, which was such a cool idea that I haven't seen done in a movie before. Then there are some other people who are stuck in virtual reality. The film shows them only briefly, but it's chilling to see them stuck in this world and moving like robots disconnected from the world around them. The world Grey lives in is so clearly defined and technology centered, so it honestly feels realistic that he would be able to have a technology inside him that makes him super-human. For a sci-fi movie, this world feels almost tangible, which I think was precisely Whannell's point. A lot of the style of this movie comes in its action sequences as well. There is some very unique camera movement in the action-filled moments, as it follows Grey's unnatural body movements as he's fighting against another person. I loved the camera movement, as it made me feel a lot more in the moment in these sequences. The lighting in this movie is also just wonderful. This movie is colorful, and that makes the action a lot more enjoyable, and the world feel even more intriguingly cinematic.

This movie's central theme might look cliched on initial glance. It's basically discussing how if we become a too technology integrated world, then we are in danger of losing the things that make us human. This concept has definitely been explored before. But, I think the movie does well enough with it that the theme works. This is mainly due to how strong Grey is as a character. I thought it was an ingenious idea to have the main character be a technophobe. Right from the beginning of the film, it's established that Grey would prefer to work with his hands. He prefers a car that he can drive himself rather than one that drives on its own. He uses physical money rather than the digital currency. He tries to avoid using his house's integrated technology system as much as he can. Whannell shows us repeatedly that Grey is right to be cynical to technology. However, Grey's acceptance of technology only becomes more inevitable once his wife is murdered. He is initially resistant to Stem being inside him, but it becomes irresistible to use Stem's powers, especially if it means he can seek justice for his wife. The viewer understands Grey's desire to use technology, even though it becomes certain that the technology that originally gave Grey power will ironically lead to a downfall of his own making. There's a lot of commentary on technology here that is subtle. I will say that there is one slightly eye rolling moment where Grey is observing the characters that stay constantly in virtual reality. He asks the character he's with why they stay in VR all the time. She replies, "Because a fake world is better than the real one". That was the one moment when I felt that this movie was spoon-feeding us its message. That line does actually make more sense just why it's there in the end of the movie, but in the moment the line felt cheesy. I'll just say to wait until the end of the movie, because you'll see why that line is there, and it actually ends up being clever. So, even for the one moment in this movie that looks cheesy initially, it still ends up interestingly contributing to the running plot arc. That means the theme works almost completely for the movie's whole run time.

As far as acting goes, the most obvious main draw is Logan Marshall-Green as Grey. Green is absolutely perfect in this role. He made his character's transformation from technophobe to technologically integrated completely believable. Green brought so much complexity to his character, showing his undying love for his wife, his frustration at being paralyzed, and his fear at Stem taking control of him. Even in the moments where we are questioning Green's decisions, I still found him sympathetic. He is admittedly an anti-hero, but thankfully not a cliched one. Whannell knew clearly how he wanted to develop this character, and almost completely laser focuses on him. I also liked Simon Maiden as Stem. He brings plenty of menace to this unseen artificial intelligence, showing simply through his voice how cold and calculated this piece of technology is. I got cold chills from it every time I heard its voice. Maiden's voice acting reveals everything you need to know about Stem's personality, and I really liked that. He brings Stem beyond being just your typical type of evil A.I. Unfortunately, the focus on these two characters takes away anything compelling from the rest of the performances. None of them are really offensive; they just come across as entirely uninteresting. I could tell that Harrison Gilbertson as Eron was trying to do some interesting things with his character, but not enough material is given to him to fully flesh out this character. I saw so much potential in Eron, and wish Leigh had given him more to do, as his arc could've been compelling to watch. The same goes Betty Gabriel as the cop Cortez. Gabriel's performance is pretty good, but her character just is not. She's about as typical of a cop character in this scenario as you could get. She has all the traits you'd expect: she's a good person, a little bit tough, and questions the validity of the main character. Those are very thin character traits, meaning that Cortez could not be in this movie and nothing would change. Benedict Hardie as Fisk is only evil and nothing else. Melanie Vallejo as Grey's wife Asha and Linda Cropper as Grey's mother are also pretty empty characters, and their performances are weak. This is especially problematic for the character of Asha, given that she's the driving force for Grey's whole motivation. I think the film could've spent a bit more time developing their relationship.

"Upgrade" is an incredibly fun ride. The action sequences are brutal, but are not so violent as to be unenjoyable. The action's interesting stylization helps you be able to swallow the more bloody moments of the film. It also helps that Grey is such an interesting character. Even if most of the other characters in this movie are weak, Grey is still so interesting that it's easy to forgive the rest of the characters' flaws, as almost none of them really matter a whole lot in the long run. This movie is about one man's descent into a dangerous technology world, and how he becomes unavoidably a part of it, even when he tries to resist it. I like this directorial film from Whannell better than "Insidious 3". I can't wait to see where he goes from here. I definitely recommend you see this movie in theaters; it is one of my favorites of 2018 so far!

"Hereditary" Movie Review

By: James Southworth
Rating: 3.5/5 Stars
 
Whether you like the movie studio A24 or not, you can't deny that they are on a roll. It's amazing how well known this studio has gotten in a short amount of time, having quite a few of their films be Oscar contenders. They've been behind such films as "Lady Bird", "Moonlight", "Ex Machina", and more. All those three movies I've listed are all in my top 10 movie lists for each year they were released. A24 is no stranger to the horror genre either, having released "The Witch" and "It Comes At Night" (the latter of the two being my favorite) to immense critical success. Something that I've noticed about A24's horror films is that audiences ended up very mixed on them. I think that may be because of how horribly the trailers marketed both movies. So, with this studio's newest horror venture, "Hereditary" (Ari Aster's directorial movie debut), I decided to go into the film as blind as I possibly could to the plot. I only watched a minute and a half teaser for it. I left this movie slightly dumbfounded about what to think about it; I knew I'd need a few days to come up with my full thoughts on it. As a whole, "Hereditary" shows immense potential from Aster as a horror director, and has some pretty solid acting in it. However, I also think this film is a bit rough around the edges, especially in its story-telling.

This movie, on its surface level, is about a family who experiences loss and has to go through immense grief and pain, all the while experiencing a mysterious entity in their house and main character Annie specifically begins to unravel long-hidden secrets about her family's ancestry. Like many horror movies, this is a fairly simple premise. For a big portion of the movie, I did like the thematic arcs of dealing with trauma as well as having to accept bitter truths about your family's past. I think the exploration of grief was definitely the most solidly presented arc in this film for sure. It's interesting to see Annie and the rest of the family questioning how much they should grieve over the loss of Annie's mother, because none of them were particularly close to her. In an incredible scene where Annie goes to a group of people who had lost loved ones, she unravels her tough relationship with her mother, which is clearly more saddening to her than the fact that she just passed away. I found that scene to be one of the most powerful in the whole film. We see it presented time and time again that there is no real right way to deal with grief, because it is an ugly thing to face. When Peter unintentionally kills his sister Charlie, his reaction to it is him intensely gripping on the steering wheel of the car, breathing heavily. That scene is drawn out for a good few minutes, and then we next see him simply driving up to the house and going inside, telling no one what happened. It plays into that an interesting theme that you don't want to be held accountable for loss, especially when that loss may be your own fault in some way. Grief is what drives the actions of both Annie and Peter in this film, and it is what tears them apart from each other multiple times. As far as the plot arc of dealing with your family's past goes, I found this theme to be a little confusingly presented. It didn't really make a whole lot of sense, and I just found whatever message they were trying to give to be lost in the midst of a story that is sometimes very unclear.

The delivering of scares is definitely what works best in this movie out of everything here. This movie has not a single jump scare in sight. I will always appreciate it when a film takes that route. It seems like more horror movies are doing that nowadays, and it proves to be a good technique for Aster. In fact, Aster presents scares in this movie in a way that might be more bone-chilling. Often the camera will just be moving, and then in the background there will be a figure or some sort of creature. There's no music, no jumping or sudden sounds. The scare is just there. That actually makes it more scary and made me tense up even more than the cliched buildup of a musical cue would. There were definitely some moments where I could feel myself getting some legitimate cold chills when the camera would simply show a figure behind one of the characters. You don't know when a scare will appear in this movie; there's absolutely nothing to prepare you for it. They just come when you least expect it. I think that may be why people are calling this one of the most terrifying movies they've seen. I can in some ways understand why people would give "Hereditary" that title, especially in the latter half of the film. What I think works most primarily about the horror is that the scares are not the primary focus of this movie. In fact, they almost always end up being a result of the family's grief. There is a seance ritual here, which I originally thought was cliched. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that scare, too, was a result of Annie dealing with her grief in the way that she best knew how. The connection of horror with a raw human emotion is something that I think more horror films could do, as it proves to work well in this movie.

Like I mentioned earlier, the acting in this movie is solid. I left this movie thinking the performances were underwhelming, but the more I thought about it, the more I appreciated most of them. The performance that grew on me the most is certainly Toni Collette as Annie. I originally left this movie thinking she was the weakest link. Something about her performance was off-putting to me, unnatural. But now I realize that her performance is supposed to be unnatural. After all, Annie is dealing with deep grief in losing her daughter Charlie, who I think is the person she loved the most in the world. Her descent into the darkest abyss of despair can be harrowing and uncomfortable to watch. There are times when she verges on delving into utter insanity, and we as the audience often question how reliable of a protagonist she is. Collette puts her all into this performance, having many scenes where she absolutely shines (especially the scene where she is with the grief therapy group). I believed her performance throughout the whole film. Gabriel Byrne as Steve was actually my favorite performance of the movie, which seems to be a somewhat unpopular opinion. I thought Byrne anchored this movie as the rational husband/dad caught in between his wife and son both going through seemingly uncontrollable anguish. Byrne shows in powerful detail how Steve is trying his best to keep his family together and to try to stay strong, but we see that weight and responsibility breaking him more and more as the film goes on. I saw understated depth and nuance in Byrne's performance; I feel like he will be immensely underrated. Molly Shapiro as Charlie is not in the movie for too long, but she does a great job as the creepy kid. I saw critical reviews comparing her performance to Regan from "The Exorcist", and I don't think that's a bad comparison at all. Shapiro makes Charlie absolutely terrifying, especially with the constant clicking noise she makes. Ann Dowd as Joan is also a great edition to this movie, being as reliably menacing of a performer as she always is. I'm glad to see her getting more and more recognition. The one performance I have a problem with in this film is Alex Wolff as Peter. I see a lot of people commending his performance, but I just don't like it at all. He does have one good scene, which is that scene in his car where he reacts to having just unintentionally killed Charlie. But other than that, I had a hard time believing this character. Wolff's performance verges on the over-the-top silly at times, especially when he cries, as his expression of despair is just laughably over-the-top. I guess I can see where some people would like his performance, but it just wasn't for me in any way.

Now we get to what is, in my opinion, the biggest problems of this movie: the pacing and the story telling. There's no denying that I am a sucker for slow burn movies that take their time to unravel their plots. "The Witch" falls cleanly under that descriptor, and I think it did an excellent job at that. "Hereditary", unfortunately, does not. After the rather dynamic beginning of this movie, following the car crash this movie screeches to a very slow halt. There are times in the middle of this movie where it feels like it drags. I could tell Aster was doing this because he was trying to show us the mystery of the main family's inheritance/ancestry. The only problem is, I never really got what their ancestry was, or its significance. The "clues" the film puts in place only come across as confusing, and seem meaningless in the long run. What the family turns out to be made no sense to me. It came out of nowhere. After watching this movie, I was trying to rack my brain and figure out where, exactly, any indication of this was revealed. I could only think of one singular moment, and it this moment was only shown for a couple of seconds. There are a couple other things incorporated into this movie that I felt had no payoff. For example, Annie makes miniature models of homes, as well as of her family. I was thinking that there might be some symbolism to this, or that maybe the model homes would play to a bigger purpose in the film, but they really don't. I think I might have a theory for what the miniatures could symbolize, but they don't seem to matter to the movie, so why would my interpretation, or any interpretation, lend to any deeper meaning? I get that movies are supposed to show, not tell. But, I think there is a time when you need to tell. A lot of people are comparing this to "The Sixth Sense". Alright, I'll bite. I won't deny that movie does a lot of showing, and the twist initially seems to come out of nowhere. But the thing is, when the twist does come, Shamalyan shows us the many moments where the twist was indicated so that the audience can connect the puzzle pieces when they watch the film again. No part of the film was random or unexplained; every part contributed to the ultimate reveal. I'm not sure if Aster could say the same. The ending of this movie comes absolutely out of nowhere, and nearly made me hate this film as a whole. In fact, just a few days ago I was considering being much more negative in my review of this film just because of that. Even thought that obviously isn't the case now, that ending will continue to bother me.

Overall, I think "Hereditary" is a solid enough horror movie. I am going to emphasize that there was a decent amount of it I liked, especially its way of naturally bringing the scares, its meditations on grief, and two really good lead performances. There are still plenty of problems with the film, though. I am not head over heels about this movie like many other critics are. Many people are saying this movie is just as good as other horror greats like "The Sixth Sense", "The Exorcist", "The Shining", and "The Babadook". I don't think this movie compares to any of those four at all. For me, it's more along the lines of a horror movie I can appreciate despite the problems I have with it, like "Insidious: Chapter 3" or "Annabelle: Creation" (although that might not be an apt comparison either, because I would say I like those two movies better than it). This movie doesn't really do horror any better than other horror movies I've seen, even if I like how it does its scares. I'm still glad that this movie is getting a lot of buzz, as I can see Aster making something even better than this in the future. For a directorial debut, this film is impressive and admirable, even if the way Aster does his story telling is not my cup of tea. I would recommend seeing "Hereditary", as it is a movie that a majority of audience members can enjoy if they're looking for something that will terrify them and make them think.

Owl City "Cinematic" Album Review

By: James Southworth
Rating: 2.5/5 Stars

People often seem to prefer a bit of realism in their music. It's what connects us as humans. We like hearing about other people's struggles, because it's honest, and it can be relatable. At least, that is the case for a  majority of the time. But, there is also a time where music can be escapist: it can be a bit more imaginative, perhaps more idealist rather than realistic about the world in which we inhabit. Owl City, also known as the electronic/synthpop project of Adam Young, is practically the embodiment of escapist music. Adam's first few albums, from "Maybe I'm Dreaming" to "All Things Bright and Beautiful" create very different worlds from our own, and they have a highly ethereal feeling to them. This is what makes his music work on those releases; that along with his lush musical soundscape and beautifully written visual imagery. I like Adam as a person, so it's hard to be critical of him. But, I've been questioning his choice in sound ever since his release of "The Midsummer Station". While that album in itself isn't awful, there's still some bad moments on it, and it had some worrisome telling signs of what was to come on the embarrassingly bad "Mobile Orchestra". That album was such a mess, with only maybe one song making a good impact. While Adam's newest (now independent) album "Cinematic" is an improvement over the former and has some legitimately good content, it still has a lot that is either boring or straight up awful in quality.

What makes the bad parts of this album so particularly frustrating on this album is that there are moments in this release that are legitimate bright spots. Just take a look at the opening track "Fiji Water", certainly one of the shining moments of this release. The synth line just screams classic Owl City, and Adam tells a story about the first time he got recruited on by a record label. This song sort of feels like it's meant to be the main point of the album, which is Adam telling his critics and doubtful fans that no one should count him out. I like the message; it is at least inspirational and genuine. I just wish the message actually paid off. I also rather enjoy "The 5th of July", where Adam tells a story of the day his parents gave birth to him, and also his appreciation for their loving commitment to him. "Lucid Dream" is filled with great electronic work; the chorus of this song is very fun and easy to sing along to. I could see this song doing well on pop charts if given the chance, and Adam sounds natural against this soundscape. "Always" is legitimately touching in Adam's depiction of angels being over his father as he passed away. I love how affectionate he is in this song, and how he shows that his faith has not been weakened. The best track on the album comes in "Be Brave", which is musically compelling. It surprised me to hear this song use actual guitar work, with those guitars exploding at the end of the song. This track is unique in context of Adam's whole discography. I also think this song works well as a love song for Adam's girlfriend. Its usage of strings and the bombastic instrumentation give this song the powerful weight it needs to work. I wish there were more songs like this one on the album, because it would be so much better. A legitimate smile crossed my face when I heard "New York City", which is the closest on this album you get to Owl City's original sound. You even have Young's signature "dadada"s on the track.

It's not good when you only have six tracks out of fifteen that work on your album. Most of the bad tracks on this album are bad in a cringeworthy way. They're memorable for all the wrong reasons. We get bad content pretty quickly with the third track and lead single "All My Friends". It makes no sense to me why this song was the lead single, or why Adam chose to make a song like this at all. Did he not learn with "Back Home" on "Mobile Orchestra" that his attempts at doing country/pop are embarrassingly awful? Apparently he didn't, as he painfully tries to do the country style here again. The verses are some of the most painful things I've heard this year, with him trying to do a rap quality to his voice while also trying to make it have a country drawl. He also says "aw shucks" repeatedly in this song. Needless to say, the combination of those elements doesn't work. At all. There's also background voices chanting along with him. It sounds like it's meant to be a campfire sing along, and in the least charming way possible. This song has some awful lyrics in it, and is probably one of my least favorite songs of the year. While there aren't any other tracks that quite compare to the outright awfulness of that one, there's still not much good to commend either. "House Wren" uses birds as symbolism for freedom, as if we haven't heard that a million times before. Plus the repetition of whistling in this song becomes annoying very quickly. I hate when songs use sound effects as their main source for a hook. "Montana" just feels more like a commercial for the state it's in. It feels like background music that you would hear rather than a legitimate song. It's lazy, and the attempt to frame it in a story narrative comes across as forced.

I don't necessarily find "Cloud Nine" to be musically offensive or anything, but my goodness are the lyrics express some of the most outlandishly cheerful sentiments ever: "Look up when the world gets you down/And you're gonna get by/Hang in when the world counts you out/And you're gonna be fine". Songs that are this happy-go-lucky feel artificial, even if that may not be Adam's intent. What worked about his bright atmospheres and optimism before was that it felt earned. In a song like this with overly simplistic lyrics, they just don't. Somehow, even more generic and straight up bad lyrics appear in "Winners Never Quit". When I saw the title of this song alone, I knew I wouldn't like it, and surprise, I don't. It's about as typical of a pump up song as you can get. Nothing about this song stands out, from the typical musical cliches of pop to lyrics which hammer out some very basic pump up phrases. "Madeline Island" was the point where I started to lose some hope for this album. This is yet another song with Adam telling a story about his family. Now, as a writer, I like stories. And there are a couple story-based songs on this album that work, like I mentioned before. But, there are just way too many of them here. I don't really care to hear about a random vacation that Adam took with his family in a whole 3-minute song structure. The story isn't that interesting for one, and for two, musically it's uninspired synthpop. The ending moments of this album are about as bad as the rest of the weak moments on this release. "Firebird" is yet another song based around a story structure, and once again the story of two brothers having to reconcile with one another just isn't that interesting. The album ends on the title track, which has this laughable line: "Your worst critics are sitting up front/And they're giving you two thumbs way, way up". Was this album made for children? I wondered that quite a bit throughout this release, with its super simplistic lyrics and musicality. The title track leaves no lasting impression, besides me thinking that instrumentally it's a little all over the place. It tries to incorporate synths, strings, guitars, electronics, drums, and more. It's just all too much, and ironically that much being thrown at you makes the song lack what Adam thinks is cinematic.
 
I really wish I liked more of this album. I used to not be a big fan of Owl City (in fact I initially hated Adam's music) when I heard "Fireflies" repeatedly. I'm still not a big fan of that song, but I came around big time on the rest of Owl City's work after being open minded and giving it a fair listen. I consider "All Things Bright and Beautiful" to be one of the best synthpop albums out there. I can even forgive some of the more generic moments of "The Midsummer Station". But an album like "Cinematic" just disappoints me. Like other groups who I've given negative reviews to this year, I know that Adam has talent. It just seems like he is only using it in brief shining moments. When you hear great material on this release like "Be Brave" or "Lucid Dream", it can be disheartening for that to be starkly contrasted with awful content like "All My Friends" or "Winners Never Quit". I really hope that Adam finds his footing and capitalizes on the promising material he gave us on this release. But for now, I'm just left underwhelmed in what is unfortunately not that great of an album.

Favorite Songs: "Be Brave", "Lucid Dream", "New York City", "Fiji Water"
Least Favorite Songs: "All My Friends", "Winners Never Quit", "Cloud Nine", "Firebird", "Montana", "Madeline Island"