This is easily one of the most influential bands in my own life, so please understand that perspective when reading this review. Dillinger has had a special place in my heart for a long time, and no it's not just because of the musical complexity and technical skill. There's something about the band's speed and the emotion that their music inspires- it feels frantic, desperate, angry... crazy. Few bands make me want to break things as much as TDEP. And I mean that in the best way possible.
This record is not by any means a perfect record. In fact, following Miss Machine, I would say that this record is a disappointment. Having some memorable tracks is all well and good (Fix Your Face, Lurch), but there is a lot of filler on this record- to some extent there may be only so many ways to rehash chaotic/dissonant metal. But then again, that's not true. This record lacks the accessibility of Miss Machine. Some complex rhythms are catchy, some aren't. Some dissonant chords and notes and melodies will actually get stuck in your head, some wont. And when you're working with this kind of music, I feel like you walk a fine line.
As far as the experimental side of the band goes, again, I'm just not into it this time. Miss Machine was a perfect record. This record is not. Whether in a moment of artistic inspiration, or perhaps a moment of pretension, or perhaps uncertainty, DEP managed to put together a disc 3 consecutive mood-ruining songs (of course, only in my opinion), ultimately about 7 minutes of music, then one heavy song (clocking in at only 1:16), and then yet another another filler song. I don't know if I conveyed how I feel about this portion of the record correctly, but basically the record opens and we get 2 extremely promising Dillinger tracks, and then we hear a pop song, an electronic nuisance, a filler track, a heavy song, and then another filler track in the vein of Calculating Infinity. Seven tracks into the disc, we've heard 3 songs that actually fit in to the sound we've come to expect from this band. At this mark on their previous full lengths, we would have heard 6 and 5 respectively (and that's not counting Phone Home, which is not exactly soft).
Now, I'm all for experimenting, and ultimately I can't say that they've done something wrong, it just doesn't work for me. So let's move on. Chris Pennie is not on this record, and I've set on this CD for about six months so that I can decide exactly how I feel about that. It's just not the same. The taste and feel is deadened on this record. Sure, Pennie is a dick, and Ben writes all of the music, and I would love to be able to say that they are fine without him, but it's just not the same.
On the upside, this record has delivered some extremely memorable tracks that I can add to my catalog of Dillinger music that I listen to on a regular basis. And then there are the songs that I don't listen to on a regular basis, but are still good songs. The thing that kills this record for me is the surprisingly large number of songs that I have no desire to hear (and it's not like they just aren't my style, I just don't think they are well written songs).
