's follow-up album, , stresses impact over subtlety, staying power, or originality. In lieu of 2002's and earnest AOR , is more at ease than most with 's swampmonster vocals and power-crunched guitar riffs. The band also knows how to dig a big chorus out of their thick dynamics when it's called for, a useful tactic reminiscent of 's first album and the big gesturey of and . Despite this, spread over a dozen tracks, competing with so many other bands with a similar sound, 's angsty FM is exhausting. return behind the desks, and their recognizable production transforms possible sincerity into self-importance and drains the band of any real individuality. ~ Dean Carlson