Most of the songs sound kind of samey and just plod along. Where are the riffs that made for so many great songs? This sounds to me more like singer-/songwriter stuff played with distorted guitars than riff-oriented energetic rock music. And to use those vocal harmonies is nice and they are some kind of trademark sound but to use them in almost every song in every verse and every chorus and every fucking bridge? That totally kills any dynamic, at least for my ears.
That is my biggest complaint with their new material. Sure, it's a signature sound, but it's nice to actually hear one singer's voice once in a while, not just a wall of sound. And they certainly did it much less back in the day. Let Duvall actually sing some more on his own, I say.
I agree with this. "Hung on a Hook" is one of my favorites from this album because of Duvall. Same with "Last Of My Kind" from BGWTB. He needs more chances to shine by himself and I hope Jerry gives it to him next time.
That said, this album is really growing on me. At first, I was disappointed. It was very samey, but repeated listens have shown that despite that, the songs are very good. Maybe not amazing, well, a few get pretty close actually. It's not the best and I don't think it's as good as Facelift or BGWTB, but I like it more than tripod. This is another solid entry in their discography. I do hope next time they try and mix things up more, hopefully with more Duvall-centric songs.
My rankings:
1. Lab Monkey
2. Phantom Limb
3. Stone
4. The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here
5. Hung On A Hook
6. Choke
7. Pretty Done
8. Breath On A Window
9. Voices
10. Hollow
11. Low Ceiling
12. Scalpel
Those first 6 are all pretty close, actually.