Highly Suspect "MCID" Album Review

By: James Southworth
Rating: 2/5 Stars

One of the many bands being hailed as the "saviors of rock" is Highly Suspect. Even though I can't say I passionately agree with this statement, I still understand where people are coming from. The band's debut album "Mister Asylum" is a superb blues rock effort, and remains to be the band's best work to date. I also appreciate the album "The Boy Who Died Wolf", even if at this point "My Name Is Human" annoys me to no end. The band had two great albums back to back, which is always promising. So, I was pretty excited to get into their third effort. The album title made me a little hesitant. "MCID" is an acronym for "My Crew Is Dope", 'crew' referring to Highly Suspect's fans. That album title made me cringe a little bit. But hey, the album is for the fans. What could possibly go wrong? Unfortunately, a lot. This album is a freaking mess.

What's truly frustrating about this album is that there are some real standout moments. But in sixteen tracks, these standouts are rare to come by and are always surrounded by tracks that are either dull or truly awful. One of the best songs on the album is definitely "Upperdrugs", which does a lot of interesting things in its five-minute run time. I appreciate Johnny Stevens being very vulnerable and honest about crippling addiction. The intense musicality compliments the song very well. "16" is probably my favorite song on the album, as it embraces pop influences to powerful effect. I like how catchy the song is, with the choral vocals giving the song an epic weight. The lyrics of the song are honestly pretty brutal as Johnny sings out "It took me 16 years to find ya/One second to love ya/Seven years to hold ya/One minute to lose ya". When you look into the story of the song, those lyrics become even more tragic, probably making this the best lyrical moment of the album. Sadly, there aren't any other lyrics that truly stand out to me (at least in a positive way). "Canals" is a solid rocker that pushes forward some legitimate-feeling politicized anger. I do feel the song could've pushed the intensity even further, but it's okay for what it is. The album ends well with "Snow White", which is where the band all feel the tightest musically.

As you can see, the positives on this album are very few and far between. More often than not, this album is a real head scratcher. This album is supposed to be "for the fans", and yet I can't see how this is the case. This album almost entirely abandons the blues rock style the band is known for and instead deviates in a bevy of directions. I am all for trying new things, but this album is a mess. If I could compare it to any other album, it's like Fall Out Boy's disaster work "Mania". It seems like Highly Suspect is just throwing all sorts of different styles at the wall and seeing what sticks. Just look at "Fly" for a clear example. This is one of the weakest album openers I've heard all year. Musically, it just doesn't hook you in with its emphasis on electronics. None of the band members seem invested in entirely dedicating to this style, especially in the very mediocre chorus. Even the lyrics are half-hearted. In one verse Johnny will talk about his struggles with mental health, but at the end he says "Shout out to Jolene to dog". So which one is this song? An honest talk about mental health, or a comedic hype track? It's clear the band didn't know what to do. "Freakstreet" is an even bigger mess, with its slap-dash combination of rock, rap, and electronics. It doesn't surprise me too much that Johnny has some rap influences, as you could see evidence of this on "My Name Is Human". His rapping in this song, to be frank, is awful. It feels nasally and whiny, and his flow is usually off. I hate to say it, but Young Thug manages to outshine Johnny on "Tokyo Ghoul". Though I don't like the song, it actually ends up being the best of the four songs on this album with featured artists. The lyrics on the song are still an absolute disaster: "You say that you love me (Dirt boy, dirt life, dirt bike, whip)/But I don't wanna be your slave/So many people judge me". And yes, this song does have unnecessary little quips in pretty much every verse, which is something I never thought Highly Suspect would do.

Speaking of the features, they are also all over the place. Would you believe me if I told you that Young Thug, Gojira, Tee Grizzley, and Conor Mason from Nothing But Thieves are all featured on this same album? If you were to tell me this, I'd probably laugh in your face, as those groups don't seem like they would fit on a cohesive album at all. And trust me, on "MCID", they don't. It is a horrible whiplash to go directly from "Tokyo Ghoul" featuring Young Thug to "SOS" featuring Gojira. For as much as I respect Gojira, they just don't work with Highly Suspect's musical style. The intense screaming does not work against the lighter rock flares of "SOS", and Johnny's voice doesn't vibe with the heavy guitars either. The song ended up being one of my least favorites, which is a real shame. The same goes for "@tddybear" (what an awful song title), featuring Conor Mason. Both his and Johnny's vocals are wasted on lyrics that whine about a lost love interest. They sound like a petulant child when they sing out "Wish I could be your teddy bear". Only AJR has made me physically cringe like that this year, making this easily one of the worst songs of the year. "The Silk Road" is almost as bad. Tee Grizzley barely saves the song from total awfulness because he's at least having some fun. The song is still quite bad, though. Cuts like "Taking Off", "Tetsuo's Bike", "Juzo", and "Arizona" come and go without leaving any impression whatsoever. A 16 track-album needs to keep you engaged, and the fact is, this album just doesn't. And then there's "These Days", where once again the lyrics frustratingly ruin what could be a decent song. I really hated how faux-edgy the song is, as Johnny legitimately says things like "Sometimes, I need to bust a nut" and "You're saying that you wish that I was playing with your butt". Just truly embarrassing and garbage lyricism.

I really wasn't expecting to dislike this album so much. But that is sadly the case. There are some good songs here, and even a great one in "16"). However, these moments are entirely overshadowed by all the messy, disposable waste that fills up the rest of "MCID". The album title is cringe, and so is the album itself. Besides some select tracks, I would advise you to avoid this one. This is one of the worst albums of the year, much to my disappointment.

Favorite Songs: "16", "Snow White", "Upperdrugs", "Canals"
Least Favorite Songs: "@tddybear", "The Silk Road", "SOS", "These Days", "Tokyo Ghoul", "Freakstreet"