In a case of cruel irony, the majority of the blame for the failure of If I'm the Devil lies on the shoulders of Butler-whose frantic presence and spectacular vocal range had previously been letlive.'s biggest strength. Butler has stated in multiple recent interviews that there were heated arguments within the band during the writing process about what direction they were going to take with this album and that he wanted them to establish a more melodic sound. Butler got his wish as the entire band is relegated to the background while Butler and his inflated ego croon through 45-mintues of slow-to-mid tempo alt-rock songs and one half-assed attempt to win over the fans of their more aggressive sound with the cringe-worthy "Another Offensive Song". There's no denying that Butler's soulful singing is still top-notch, it just gets old listening to him not explore the full extent of his range or deploy the manic energy that has made him one of the buzzed-about vocalists in punk/hardcore right now while his bandmates mindlessly entertain his desire to be a mainstream rock superstar for the course of an entire record.
Without the constant tempo changes and unhinged insanity to lead the charge, the vapidness of Butler's lyrics are exposed at length throughout this record. The politically and socially-charged rants that make up his lyrics are so poorly-written and hollow that it's hard to believe that they were written by a man that's about to turn 30. It's abundantly clear that songs like "Reluctantly Dead" and "Copper Colored Quiet" were supposed to be profound statements on police brutality and religion, but because of Butler's reliance on half-baked symbolism and "rebellious" threats against the establishment, they become nothing more than disposable, incoherent ramblings from a man who clearly values angst over legitimately deep thinking. To put it simply, Butler isn't the next Zack de la Rocha and if letlive. is going to continue pump out music in the same vain as If I'm the Devil... in the future, he should permanently shelve his pseudo-intellectual anarchist act.
The top-to-bottom competency of the musicianship prevents this from being a complete trainwreck, but outside of a few tracks on the first half of the album ("Nu Romantics", "A Weak Ago", "Good Mourning, America"), If I'm the Devil is a largely forgettable effort. letlive. was a band that stood out because of their unrelenting energy and overwhelming passion and without either of those elements in the fold, there's little reason to care about their music. Reigning in the constant sense of chaos, raw emotion and soaring choruses that defined Fake History and The Blackest Beautiful is the biggest misstep letlive. has made in their career to-date, and I can only hope they'll chalk up If I'm the Devil as a failed experiment and go back to making kick-ass post-hardcore on their next record.
2.5/5 Stars
Standout Tracks
1.A Weak Ago
2.Nu Romantics
3.Good Mourning, America
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