This album had an interesting build up to it; while most bands usually release a couple singles and then the album, The Neighbourhood put out two full EPs, Hard and To Imagine, in September of 2017 and January of this year respectively. Along with the two singles they released leading up to the album release, exactly half (6) of the songs from the album were already out and available, some for many months at this point. It made for an unusual listening experience; the first couple of times I played through the album, it felt a bit disjointed, as I knew certain songs very well and others were brand new. After I've gone through it a few times now, I've begun to move past that point and can see the album a bit more as a cohesive unit.
I will say that I was somewhat disappointed to see which of the songs ended up on the album from the EP's; "24/7" from Hard was one of my favorite songs of last year, yet was left out of the album, as well as "Heaven" from To Imagine. Both were catchy and intriguing songs for the band, utilizing different soundscapes while retaining the essence of the band. But the choices that they made did seem to fit the overall mood and flow of the album, so I'll be content to still have the other songs even if they didn't make the album cut.
If we're looking at The Neighbourhood in comparison to Wiped Out!, their last album release, the most obvious difference to me was the scope and emotions that are presented by the band. Wiped Out! showed us a band that was riding off the wave created by the very successful single "Sweater Weather"; lots of pop and hip-hop influences combining with their signature cool alternative-electronic sound. There were songs with large, huge sound waves that were contrasted by very drawn in and low energy tunes. The Neighbourhood, however, shows a band that's seen a bit more of the world, a bit more settled into reality and ways that life can change how things are perceived. The band has always been good about being vulnerable, but their latest album seemed to bring an even wider exposure to the inner feelings and thoughts of the band (or lead singer, Jesse Rutherford). Songs like "Nervous", "Void" (see my review here), "Too Serious", and "Stuck With Me" reveal the different struggles and insecurities faced in the band's position, whether it pertains to relationships or fame. "Too Serious" feels like the most revealing, with lyrics in the chorus being a prime example:
"Now I feel like I'm broken
Now I feel like I'm choking
How I wish I was joking with you"
It's a very honest set of lyrics, one that reveals a lot about the band and where specific members might stand in this point of their life.
There's definitely songs on the other side of this, songs that are more upbeat and less sorrowful. "You Get Me High", "Scary Love", and "Flowers" are all more upbeat, although they each have very different meanings and vibes. "You Get Me High" deals a bit with the band's success, but in a way that doesn't leave you feeling down. "Scary Love" talks about handling someone loving them so much that it feels frightening in its intensity. Again, I don't think it's in a bad way; it's just about how to deal with such a powerful set of emotions directed at you intimately from another person. "Flowers" is the most upbeat and poppy of the three songs, which is a bit ironic due to the lyrical content of dealing with having to put on a fake persona all for someone else's sake.
Instrumental-wise, this album saw the band moving further into the electronic space and experimenting more with new sounds while still retaining their sense of moody, cloudy-weather music. There was also a fair amount of trap influence, subtly in the instrumental but more obviously in the vocals. "Blue", "Reflections", and "Nervous" have the most obvious examples during various points in the verses, which if you're familiar with trap music, you'll know which points I'm speaking of. While I'm not really that big on trap, and think that it has reached it's tipping point, I think that the moments where it appears on this record are just enough to accent the influence of rap on The Neighbourhood and how they have represented the genre in their previous work (such as their lesser known mixtape, #000000 & #FFFFFF, from 2014 featuring a number of rappers such as G-Eazy and others).
I think the beauty of this band is that they haven't locked themselves into a specific sound. Their incorporation of multiple genres leaves them a lot of room to play around with different influences and sonic ideas. Their three albums and mixtape they've released have all shown very different sides of the band, and it reveals the potential they still have, despite the struggles they may have been dealing with as a band and as individuals. Music can be a healing, transformative process, and I would imagine that despite the pain and difficulties they have been facing, making this record and sharing it has been one that has helped them, as well as helping their fans who can relate. It might not be my favorite record from the group; I think the release set up and some of the songs themselves weren't as well executed. But, I know the band will be back with something different, as they always are, and I look forward to hearing what's next (and enjoying the songs I did like from this album/the EP's).
Rating: 3.5/5
Recommended: "Void", "Softcore", "Too Serious"
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