This review sits pretty evenly between the opinions of the last two. According to Dying Scene, this album’s execution was a little bland and undermines the lyrical quality of the album. Similar to TheNeedleDrop, this review compares the punk-pop qualities of the song to Green Day. However, the quality of this album more than made up for their previous lackluster album, White Crosses. While I had never before made the comparison between some of the more pop-y songs on the album to Green Day, I did notice how a few songs sounded like pop-punk, but I still enjoyed them.
This review, like the one from Pop Matters, applauds the use of “grotesque” bodily imagery in the album. Unlike both other reviewers, however, this one didn’t particularly like the line “Does God bless your transsexual heart?” in the song, True Trans Soul Rebel. According to this review, it kind of takes away from the song. I had never really seen it that way, and I still have a little trouble, but I can see how that lyric doesn’t quite fit many of the other lines of the song.
The track Osama Bin Laden as the Crucified Christ is delved into for this review, and its use of imagery of terrorism and crucifixion are described as being an abstract way of discussing Grace’s experience with dysphoria. I will be completely honest, I just thought this song was a wild ride. I had never noticed any connections to personal feelings, but now it makes a ton of sense.
Media Project 