All of the talking points about Evanescence's new self-titled album -- that it's their first in 4 years, that after more lineup changes Amy Lee is left as the only original member, that she experimented with 'electronic' elements this time around -- point toward an album that might sound at least slightly different from its two hugely successful predecessors. It isn't. Like, not the slightest bit. I have only heard Evanescence's multi-platinum debut Fallen in passing maybe a few times, and I don't think I'd be able to tell the difference between any non-singles on it or Evanescence in a blind taste test.

That's not really a complaint, since I essentially like Evanescence and think they're good at they do, even if what they do is a pretty narrow lane and one can only handle so much of it (which is why those long breaks between albums are appreciated). Amy Lee is still kind of mind-bogglingly hot in that way where even her voice sounds hot, and her big silly dramatic stadium goth songs hit all those big notes and big feelings well. But again, the band work well in small doses, and I don't know if there's anything here that would hit me by themselves the way "Call Me When You're Sober" or "Going Under" have. I can't even single out any tracks as especially good or bad, it all just kind of runs together. And over the 12 tracks (16 on the deluxe version, although I couldn't make it through all of those), the cumulative effect is numbing, as you kind of get Evanescence fatigue from too much big loud flowery dark piano rock.

This entry was posted on Monday, October 24, 2011 at 9:49 AM. You can skip to the end and leave a response.