Todd Espinosa

What a return to form after the over-production on Villains. For me, my current least favorite song (Time & Place) is still Above Average and catches my ear. This album is a fantastic blend of what was great from previous albums. It's foundationally rooted in what made you a fan of them while also adding new elements to bring their sound forward. Sleazy, Beautiful, Catchy, and Powerful. Stand-Outs are Straight Jacket Fitting, Sicily, (with both just laying the hammer down lyrically) and Obscenery (another strong first song which is just about a calling card for them at this point with the possible exception of Turnin' on the Screw from Era Vulgaris). The build to the explosive ending of Carnavoyeur, the rhythm and flow of Made to Parade, the gallop of What the Peephole Say, and and that chorus in Negative Space .........DAMN!!!! Josh has taken his pain, trials, and tribulations and gone 100% vulnerable with his song-writing and lyrics on this one. It sounds like he's held nothing back and the album is great for it. It usually takes me a bit to fully warm up to an album and I need about 10 listens to really dive into it (Metallica's 72 Seasons was like that for me as I couldn't get into at first and then it just clicked). Not here. Immediately grabbed me and hasn't let go. Totally worth the ride. For me, easily in their Top 3 Albums and I hesitate to say it's #1 only because I like to give it some time before making such a judgment. But it feels and sounds like where In Times New Roman is going to end up over here.