This record is a fundamental downgrade from THOC. Production is leagues behind, the snare drum is a great example; sampled without any creativity, mixed like it's in a dull room. The songwriting is not stellar here either. There's some strong highlights like Violent Mood Swings and Smothered (which is marred with production choices I don't understand.) This record feels, to me, like they either got a little high on how good THOC was or they rushed this out. Not a great follow up.
Massive fan of Strangers Only and UnReal so I have bias going into this, I was not overly impressed with the majority of material here - Flooded Eyes has a great groove and writing style, but has the EXACT same chorus as "Joi" off of UnReal. Some parts of this feel like a strong and intentional comeback, but the rest of it feels like a slow walk through the most "eh" parts of radio rock.
this band is beyond consistent to the point that I went into this knowing it would be an 8/10 without a doubt in my mind