I'm gonna make it as simple as possible. Underoath did not "full pop" or "change to something unrecognizable." They dialed back a lot of what I found interesting about their sound in favor of writing more music in the vein of TOCS. I don't like that album and I don't like this album. I much prefer their sound on Disambiguation, as well as DTGL and LITSOS. I see people point out all the time "Erase Me still has heavy songs! Just listen to these songs!" and, I gotta say, I think most of the songs on this record suck and are boring as sin. I'm not sitting here saying "Well this album isn't good because it's not heavy!" I'm saying that this album isn't good because I think it's utterly forgettable.
It’s far less interesting than the last three albums. It was a regression in the worst way for me and completely forgettable.
In a weird way, this album was the closest to both They're Only Chasing Safety and Disambiguation sonically. You get the conventional structures and the radio ready hooks of the former, and then the industrial elements and some of the lyrical themes of the latter. In the end, instead of blending both well, it just sounded dumbed down.
The direction on this album is awesome, but I do wish it had some heavier songs. If it had some heavier tracks and classic Underoath riffage going on I’d say they hit the nail on the head. But they didn’t and they slightly missed the head of the nail. But it’s important to mention there’s way more good than there is bad on this album.
I haven't listened to this album since it came out but I don't remember any of it sounding like TOCS?
The Peer Pleasure Podcast: Spencer Chamberlain (Underoath) on Apple Podcasts Great podcast. I’ve always been a fan of Spencer but I respect the hell outta the guy after listening to this.