A very tumultuous year or two has plagued Madina Lake, with Matthew Leone’s horrific attack being the biggest hurdle for the band to overcome personally and professionally. Now, the Chicago quartet are back with ‘World War III’, which marks the finale of their album trilogy.
Cue more metaphorical rhetoric, and no prizes for guessing the subject of ‘Howdy Neighbour’ – on the state of the planet chewed out with full grandiose hero-rock vocals that feel slightly self indulgent, and the power-pop carries big 90’s vibes – retrospective, but by skipping over any real reinvention, the whole thing fails to feel fresh. Where’s the anthem? Or that brain engulfing hook?
Irony-free ‘Hey superstar’ repeatedly spoon feeds listeners advice of “hey superstar, don’t try so hard” that it actually ends up coming across as doing just that: trying so hard, and two and a half minutes into ‘Take Me Or Leave Me’ and the spoken word takes over, fattening up the mellow and oh so slightly Train-esque tune.
‘World War III’ demands to be liked, but an air of pretension overrides any possible chance for your synapses to tweak with joy.
JESSICA ACREMAN