Starset "Divisions" Album Review

By: James Southworth
Rating: 3/5 Stars

There are many rock bands out there with the goal of being innovative and game changing, which is tough considering how mainstream rock radio isn't too forgiving of bands who attempt to do this. That hasn't been the case for Starset at all, as they exploded into popularity with their debut album "Transmissions". It's a pretty solid space rock album which sounds mostly distinctive. It's hard to not draw some comparisons to acts like Breaking Benjamin or Three Days Grace, especially in terms of lead vocalist Dustin Bates's singing style and the lyrical content, but the album still works. I think the band really made their own sound with their sophomore album "Vessels", which has only grown on me since its 2017 release. The album took away a lot of the problems that the debut had (the excess of musical interludes, Dustin's vocals aren't constantly drowned in vocal effects/autotune). I was interested to see where the band would go with their third album, "Divisions". This album sees the band embracing electronics and pop sensibilities more heavily than ever before. While this isn't an entirely bad thing, that this album is still middling for me, and in my opinion is the band's weakest release to date.

Let's start with the positives of the album, because they are certainly present. I will say that Dustin Bates's vocals on this album are (mostly) even better than they were on "Vessels". I mentioned that "Vessels" took away some of the vocal effects, but they are still present in that release. On "Divisions", the effects are stripped away almost entirely on a lot of tracks, which is a refreshing change. This is immediately evident on lead single and opening track "Manifest" (the first full song, coming after an interesting introductory track establishing a dystopian world). This track has been in constant rotation for me since its release, and it still stands as one of the absolute best songs of the album. The song really hooks you in after a deceptively soft intro. Dustin suddenly screams out the title of the song, and there's this booming EDM-influenced guitar breakdown. It was truly unexpected, and is a huge burst of energy on this album as a whole. The chorus of the song is great; it's easily one of the most catchy songs on the album. "Echo" is a good follow-up, even if it is a totally different beast from "Manifest". Whereas the latter is intense and rocking, the former is a soft, electronic-laden cut. I think the electronic emphasis works well on this song, especially when it combines with the piano in the verses. Dustin sounds confident on this song vocally, and the band has really tight chemistry here. I commend "Divisions" for sounding really well-produced throughout. Nothing sounds cheap here; instead it all comes together nicely and makes the album feel a little more alive than it would have if there were weaker production values. The next major highlight on the album comes in "Perfect Machine", which is the best song lyrically on the album. This song has some real emotional gravitas to it, as Dustin describes this relationship where he was purposefully putting on a false persona for this other person, and now he's realizing how much that hurts both of them. He tries to go into denial mode about it, with the clear attempts of self-justification being all too clear in the lyrics: "Lay your heart into my perfect machine/I will use it to protect you from me/I will never let you see what's beneath/So good for you and good for me". I wish there were more big standout moments like this track, but they unfortunately don't appear super often.

The second half of the album has about the same amount of highlights that the first half does. I could see some people being really annoyed by "Faultline", which has some really odd Imagine Dragons and Shinedown influences sound-wise to me. I'm not sure why I get vibes of both of those bands in this song, but somehow that's the case. The song is admittedly very repetitive, with the chorus being sang almost too much. But, I would be lying if I said I disliked the song. It is very fun if you don't think about it too much; not all songs have to be lyrically deep. The easy best song of the album comes in the epic track "Solstice", which is also one of Starset's best song to date. The song sees Dustin Bates talking to a loved one an expressing how he feels like he is mentally in a very crippling place. Dustin begs over and over "Don't let me let the dark take over". Those are the only lyrics in the chorus, and yet they don't overstay their welcome. This is mainly because of how raw Dustin sounds vocally, along with the explosive combination of guitar riffs and soaring synths. I love the way this song progresses, as it feels like it gets bigger and more desperate. There's a real weight to this track. "Waking Up" seems to be the black sheep of the album for many Starset fans, but I actually vibe with this song. Once again, it suffers from being repetitive in is chorus, but the song has a nice, relaxing feel, and it's intriguing to me sound-wise. I actually like that Starset went very pop here and embraced that direction fully. The album ends on a high note with the beautiful ballad "Diving Bell". This song is lifted by being where Bates is definitely at his best vocally. The song is has an irritating chant-like outro that interrupts it, but if you ignore that, the song is flawless for its first four minutes.

Like I said earlier, there's stuff to commend about this album. However, there are also a lot of issues. One of the biggest is that Starset brings back a problem that they had mostly gotten rid of on "Vessels": the excess of musical interludes. On almost every track here, after it is over, there is an instrumental or vocal snippets that can go on anywhere from 15 seconds to a full minute and a half. Almost none of these interludes are interesting, save for maybe the one on "Solstice". Now, "Vessels" does have some musical interludes, but they are small in quantity, and also to me add to the flow of the album. The interludes on "Divisions" more often interrupt the flow of the album, and are just annoying. I see myself skipping over the songs once they come to their interludes, which is not a good thing. The way Starset utilizes pop and electronics on this album can sometimes be very underwhelming or feel half-hearted. This is most apparent on "Stratosphere", which is a very middle of the road song that is quite dull. I always forget this song directly after listening to it. "Trials" is by far the worst song on the album, and perhaps even Starset's worst song to date. The way Dustin sings in this song irks me, and the symphonic elements are obnoxiously loud. I also don't like the filler "oh"s in the track. The song is a very generic pump up song with some lyrics that make me cringe a little: "We take our places in the dark/And turn our hearts to the stars". The song feels a little childish to me overall. "Other Worlds Than These" annoys me to no end, starting right away with this overbearing vocal effect that doesn't fit on the album at all. I have conflicted feelings on "Telekinetic". On one hand, it has this awesome screaming segment that is perhaps the most intense the band has ever gone. But on the other hand, that section doesn't feel like it fits in a mostly poppy song with a chorus that has Dustin stuttering out the title of the song ("Tele-tele-e-e-kinetic"). That part really takes me out of the song. "Where The Skies End" is also a song I don't entirely hate, but does overstay its welcome. It is the most Starset-sounding song on the album, but it also can't help but feel slightly by the numbers.

Overall, I would say "Divisions" is an okay album. It doesn't do anything too annoying or awful (except for "Trials", which I hate with a passion). There are some songs here that legitimately impress me, but I wouldn't say most of the good tracks here are among Starset's best work (with the exceptions of "Solstice, "Manifest", and "Diving Bell"). I can't quite call this album a disappointment, especially since I'm not a passionate Starset fan. At the same time, I did really enjoy "Vessels", and this album is certainly a step down from that. I will return to select songs from the album, but definitely not the release as a whole. If you are a fan, you will probably like this album, so check it out if you haven't.

Favorite Songs: "Solstice, "Manifest", "Diving Bell", "Perfect Machine"
Least Favorite Songs: "Trials", "Other Worlds Than These", "Stratosphere"