A deeply influenced album that weaves every strand of sky-grasping, affirming rock the western world has ever heard. U2's soaring desire, Springsteen's weariness, War on Drugs' twinkling desperation, Japandroids' spark-throwing howls to the universe, Explosions in the Sky's sense of skyward scope, Broken Social Scene's slow spotlight searching, Arcade Fire's stagey grandiosity.
And its not just style, little details crop up, with Keep Me in the Open very nearly nicking Avril 14's iconic piano, Le Reel build on a generally Arcade Firian mode, with a violin line that hews _awfully close to Rebellion (Lies), and countless Explosions near-misses.
As if trying to outdo the outdoers, it runs 77 minutes over 16 songs, 4 of them 6 minutes-plus, riding the same themes too long and too often.
And all those influences are good, and we can use more of this kind of grounded uplift right now. And in flashes (Do Not Let Your Spirit Wane) there's real pathos. It all feels sincere and large, like a swing at being the best album ever, at least to a cherished section of the masses, and it's hard to fault that. And it's even good in places. It uplifted my day and gave me cause to appreciate. Is that not enough?
It's something. And it's crass to knock rock for ripping off when that's rock's foundation. But at some point its distracting, and an accidental subtext of pop-art, postmodern pastiche runs counter to the intended themes. This is not an academic complaint - at these degrees, familiarity disrupts the actual listen, memory distracting from the immediate 3.5/5
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