CHUCKLES AND MR. SQUEEZY

Following the absolutely terrific The Pariah, The Parrot, The Delusion, dredg followed it up by releasing an album of mostly forgettable wanna-be electronic rock. I will give them credit for trying something different, but they failed pretty badly in their attempt to pull a U2 or Radiohead, as their attempt to fuse electronica into their already-established rock sound is a massive failure.

The sad thing is, most of the songs have some cool things going on, but whether it be a limp chorus, a bridge that sounds like it was written to fill space, or a generic guitar riff, most of the songs are ultimately dragged down into being forgettable and mediocre.

I did see them live a few months back, and they kicked ass as usual, and the majority of the new songs they played live sprang more to life, so perhaps some of the blame should go to the overproduced production courtesy of Dan the Automator, but the band themselves ultimately is judged by the music, and by just about any standard, this album is a big disappointment.

I don't think it is so awful as to give it 1 star, but I can't go any higher than 2 stars. I still enjoy Down Without a Fight a lot (probably the most electronic-driven tune on here), and Upon Returning and Where I'll End Up are good tunes that sound good when doing a dredg shuffle playlist. Just about everything else, though, not so much.

For now, stick to the three brilliant albums that preceded this one, and we all just have to hope that they return to form on their next record!