An Honest Opinion from a long-time Echelon.
Being in Australia, I obtained Love, Lust, Faith + Dreams 4/5 days before the rest of the world did.
I didn’t really enjoy Up In The Air, Conquistador and whatever they released prior to the album release. But I was still hopeful with their new album. I had a change to listen to it for a few days and honestly, the new 30 Seconds To Mars album is just..
Okay. Just okay.
A lot of people have been complaining about how Mars had changed their sound. Yet, a lot of people have defended them that they’re evolving, they never had a “sound”, etc.
Me? It doesn’t matter to me whether they’ve changed up their sound or whatever. They’re 30STM. No album sounds the same. Yet the one thing that remained prominent was the energy and emotion portrayed by Jared, Tomo and Shannon when they do their thing. Instruments do change, singing techniques too. But the atmosphere, the feeling/reason of loving someone’s art. That usually remains constant throughout their work. Much like Radiohead and Muse, each of their album sounds different from one another, yet they are able to maintain that signature vibe and connection that makes them Muse and Radiohead. The reason why people like Muse and Radiohead.
And I didn’t feel that with LLF+D. It was flat and lackluster. Disconnected and broken. It wasn’t the change in sound that bothered me, but it was that it felt that LLF+D was made out of a desire to put out an album for the sake of the fans rather than making an album because they love to make music. It seemed like they made music that the audience could participate in or sing along rather than making a piece of artistic expression with music. Fan service as what the Japanese would call it. But that alone differentiates entertainment with art. If I wanted entertainment, I would go to a Justin Bieber concert (I find him repulsive and would never go to any of his concerts FYI). If I wanted art, I’d go to a Mars concert, which I have been since ABL. Because it enlightened, haunted and engulfed me. The only song that did for me in LLF+D was “City of Angels”. It was a love song for their hometown of LA. It was obvious, prominent in the lyrics, the way Jared sang and the overall sound of it constructed by Tomo and Shannon. But the rest of the songs weren’t cutting it.
Perhaps they’re still tired from touring “This Is War”. Perhaps I had high expectations that LLF+D would provide an emotional reaction similar to that of 30STM, ABL and TIW. I don’t know.
The only thing I do know is that although I will be attending their gig in Sydney on August 11th, I’m going as a loyal Echelon, supporting one of my favourite bands in the world, despite of my disappointment with LLF+D.
Hopefully, their next album will be better.
Provehito in Altum
