I retract this statement. after 35ish listens this is what I wrote on a blink forum last night.
I can't help but be let down, no matter how much I want to love this.. It's not because of the synths or AVA influence, nor Tom's voice. I just feel like the passion and emotion from previous releases(namely untitled) isn't there. On the entire UT record Tom(and Mark) go so hard with so much feeling and I'm just not hearing it here.
There's also just a fundamental difference in the lyrics and themes from what I can tell from just one song. It may not be a bad thing per-say, but to me it's just not the same as on the records I fell in love with. Lyrics like, "like violence you have me forever and after," "don't waste your time on me you're already the voice inside my head," and "Why is this hard, you recognize me, i know i'm wrong, but i can't help believing." will always mean more to me than lyrics that, in my opinion, try to be more than what they're worth(if that makes any sense). The whole, "everyone... everyone.. everyone" verse in UAN just seems like Tom(or mark, whoever wrote it) trying too hard to make some big over arching statement about society or what have you.
I don't know if any of that will make sense to anyone but myself, and maybe it's just the teenage angst(or nostalgia) in me talking. But this just doesn't make me feel the way the old stuff did...
Anyway my two cents on the new jam.. hoping for more from the record