Enemy, familiar friend...
Posted August 24, 2009
By veritas,
...my beginning and my end
There is something lacking here that I just cannot put my finger on. The initial draw for me to Red was their versatility on End of Silence. They had exemplary rock hits in songs like Breathe Into Me, yet also produced excellent slower songs in the vein of Already Over, Pt. 2. Innocence & Instinct feels like a regression on both fronts and does not appeal to me in either regard. The harder portions of songs often seem passionless or whiny, much as the screams on Fight Inside of "It's nothing / It's everything" seem redundant and pointless. For the most part, the slower songs just don't seem to carry any weight. The only two tracks that improve on the previous album are Death of Me and Take It All Away. Death of Me is solid throughout, while Take It All Away offers the touch that is missing from the other softer songs on this record.
I will say that, while obviously nothing groundbreaking, I really do like the concept for this album and I consider the lyrics stronger here than on their last album. I just think the music behind the message feels emotionless and stale on this go around. Even at a recent concert I saw, older songs like Lost and Gave It All Away outshone the newer hits. Almost everywhere, I have read of the numerous improvements that were made by the band since the previous record, but I just do not hear it myself. To me, Innocence & Instinct is an average run-of-the-mill album with a few standout tracks. While the album is certainly worth a few listens, I cannot heartily recommend it as a whole.
My Highlights: Death of Me, Take It All Away, Confession (What's Inside My Head)
You've stripped me down, the layers fall like rain
It's over now, just innocence & instinct remain
You watched me while I slowly disappeared
I reached for you to save me, you were frozen in fear View All Music And Book Reviews By veritas | View veritas's Profile
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