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Thirty Seconds To Mars – America

Discussion in 'Article Discussion' started by Melody Bot, Apr 26, 2018.

  1. Melody Bot

    Your friendly little forum bot. Staff Member

    This article has been imported from chorus.fm for discussion. All of the forum rules still apply.

    On Thirty Seconds to Mars’ fifth album, titled America, Jared Leto and his bandmates experiment with big U2-type choruses, patriotic themes, and the deeper meanings of life. The band has long-since been known for their anthemic choruses and there are plenty of those to go around on America, as well as great production and a polished sound fit for a major label and radio outlets alike.

    The album itself is front-loaded with the previously released singles “Walk on Water” and “Dangerous Night.” The one-two punch of these tracks play off of each other well, with the latter being the more memorable of the two. Leto sings on the chorus that it’s a “dangerous night to fall in love/don’t know why we fight what we’ve become.” The themes of loss, heartbreak, and longing for a change in the status quo run rampant throughout the album.

    On “Rescue Me,” another early album standout track, we see Leto struggle with the “demons in his mind” over a programmed beat and electronic music backing. The best way to describe the rest of the album is “brooding” as it never reaches the earlier heights of the singles and makes the listening experience more reflective than reactive.

    Leto claims to have a “method to the madness” on “One Track Mind,” which features a rapped verse from A$AP Rocky that comes off a little awkward. “Monolith” is a mid-album snoozefest, but the band recovers slightly with the Halsey-assisted track “Love is Madness.” The verses continue the earlier vibes of the two aforementioned tracks, while the chorus is the saving grace for the song.

    “Great Wide Open” tries to reach for the same heights as U2’s “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” with its gospel chorus backing and floaty lyrics. However, it seems that the rest of the band is taking a backseat to Leto on this album as his vocals being the focal point doesn’t leave much room for the rest of the band. The track comes across as more of an Angels and Airwaves type track, with a lot less creative guitar work.

    The majority of the rest of the album features quieter tones, acoustic guitars, and honestly just limps to the finish with the closing track “Rider.” Leto may have had a lot of fun making this record, but he may want to check in on his bandmates to see if they are still going along for the ride with him. This album is not as bad as some early reviews have showcased, but it’s also not much better either.

     
  2. tyramail

    Trusted Supporter

    I enjoyed this on my first listen, to my surprise.
     
  3. Former Planets

    Aaaachem!

    I loved their first album, and bought the second the day it came out. When I put it in my computer, Sony had copy-protected it to where you couldn’t rip your own MP3s. That was enough to ruin my excitement and left a bad taste in my mouth about this band ever since. Also, each album has further skewed the good songs to god complex ratio, so there’s that too.
     
  4. DandonTRJ

    ~~~ヾ(^∇^ Supporter

    I revisited that first album on a drive recently after having only listened to their more recent output for a few years, and holy crap, I forgot how much more dynamic and layered their music used to be. I wish they’d claw back some of that raw ambition.
     
  5. theasteriskera

    Trusted Supporter

    I've listened to close to 200 new albums so far in 2018, & this is by far the worst with no close second. I came into it really wanting to like it too :-/
     
    LCT Music likes this.
  6. tyramail Apr 26, 2018
    (Last edited: Apr 27, 2018)
    tyramail

    Trusted Supporter

    Listen to Lil Xan - Total Xanarchy
     
    Jake W, SuNDaYSTaR and SamLevi11 like this.
  7. CMilliken

    Trusted

    Wasn’t a fan. Couldn’t really get into this one. Their past couple tbh.
     
    LCT Music likes this.
  8. thedrudo

    Trusted Prestigious

    I thought the first single was a joke the first time I heard it -- but that song and this album have grown on me a ton.
     
  9. We're in day 114 of 2018. This is impressive, that's over one new album a day. Damn.
     
  10. JamesMichael

    Software Engineer Prestigious

    I suppose streaming makes new music more accessible than ever. Still impressive!
     
    Mr. Serotonin likes this.
  11. Iamhollywood315

    Regular

    Rescue me is really catchy but I wished there were more guitar driven parts on the album rather than poppy beats
     
    Mr. Serotonin and JamesMichael like this.
  12. Hazelnutsack

    Irregular

    This site has to be the kindest when it comes to cutting garbage albums slack, it really shows the love this community has.
     
  13. tyramail

    Trusted Supporter

    Or people just have different tastes. Pretty crazy idea!
     
    heymattrick likes this.
  14. Hazelnutsack

    Irregular

    Are you seeing the album art rn
     
  15. sawhney[rusted]2

    I'll write you into all of my songs Supporter

    IT MATCHES THE NEUTRAL COLORING LOL
     
  16. heymattrick

    Pool Boy at the Vampire Mansion

    Are we actually judging the music on albums based on their artwork now?
     
    SuNDaYSTaR likes this.
  17. jorbjorb

    7 rings

    Damn this sounds great.
     
  18. natedorough

    Newbie

    Wait, isn't this guy a total shitbag?
     
  19. tdlyon

    Most Dope Supporter

    Very easily their worst album, though they've never made one that was consistently good all the way through imo, they all just have highlights
     
    Hazelnutsack and skogsraet like this.
  20. SamLevi11

    Trusted Prestigious

    This album is trash. The artwork is trash. The musicianship is trash. The Lyrics are trash. Jared Leto is trash.
     
    Hazelnutsack and skogsraet like this.
  21. Hazelnutsack

    Irregular

    No but in this case that album art is indicative of what to expect from the contents of the music, also refer to the comments above me
     
  22. theasteriskera

    Trusted Supporter

    You're right, that was really really bad. I honestly gave up about 70% in, I couldn't do the last like 4 songs.

    Thanks! Every Friday morning I end up throwing like 10-12 new albums in my queue. Sometimes I wish I'd stop & listen to more things I like/older music, but I just can't.
     
    tyramail likes this.
  23. xenoabe

    Regular

    I liked it more than a lot of people. It's by far their worst album to me though and they've strayed a lot from the rock roots they started with. It's pretty much pop with the quintessential element of Leto trying to make everything sound "epic."

    If we're going off of album artwork then APC's new album is horrific (I actually loved the music on it though).
     
  24. Former Planets

    Aaaachem!

     
  25. josh-

    Twitter: @joshcaraballin

    This album is a hot pile of shit
     
    Dirty Sanchez and SamLevi11 like this.