This record is outstanding. The reason that you can't pick out an instant classic MG song is because it goes beyond them. Not in a "better than" sense, there are certainly nods to his previous work but I find the songs to be more full. Garden of Knives is just incredible, Via Dolorosa and Hey Hell Heaven are upbeat rockin MG style anthems. I can hear hints of his older stuff in Letters in Wartime (which is the most fitting choice for a closure out of any of these songs) and in Mutineering. I could have done without Had It Coming, but I love the feel of We're Long Gone. rLights was a beautiful album, start to finish. I find that I listen to certain "groups" of songs from it. Like Extraordinary Fades through Shallow's Low, tagging Non Populous on the end, Mildred next to Zero and then Set Me on Fire through Darlin. Arrows definitely does not come off as a "follow up", Matt made it pretty clear this was going to be a rock record. And it is.
Bump |