30 SECONDS TO MARS: America (ALTERNATIVE ROCK): review / opinion to read on Music Waves

Not so long ago, nine years ago, "This Is War" was released, leaving its mark on American alternative rock by succeeding in achieving both critical and commercial success for a band formed by an actor. Yes, but that was almost ten years ago and in the meantime "Love Lust Faith + Dreams" was released, whose more pop than rock orientation would open the debates on the band. The story of the evolution of 30 seconds To Mars is similar to that of Coldplay or Dredg, that of a band that starts from a rock style with this feeling of authenticity to evolve towards spheres with a more selling look.

Not losing sight of the subversive and a little rebellious perspective of rock and at the same time the commercial aspect of music, Jared Leto's band released their new album "America" with no less than 10 different covers representing, according to the band, as many qualifiers or personalities of an America that seems to have gotten lost since the last presidential election. To go into rebellion yes, but as long as it brings us money is the feeling that emerges from the beginning of this album. Notice to collectors, if you buy the CD on the internet, you will not have the choice of the cover it will be the surprise and you will have to go to your record store to be able to choose it or buy ten CDs to have them all.

From a musical point of view, the band continues the work started with the penultimate album to date by accentuating the more pop aspect of the songs to the detriment of rock with a lot of synthesizers (which in itself may not be a problem) and vocoder or inappropriate voice effects. Because listening to this album, everything seems to be synthetic, forgetting the organic. Gone are the guitar solos, which we are still looking for at the end of our listening. It is only electro with its bad tendencies on each track.

Hoo hoo hooo greet the listener on "Walk On Water" who will end up looking at the band's name several times on one of the many CD covers he (she) bought to confirm that it is 30 Seconds To Mars and not Maroon 5 that he is listening to. Jared Leto overplays the verses in 'Dangerous Night' - close to Bieber - 'Love Is Madness' or even 'Rescue Me' where everything goes wrong between the vocoder used to the extreme and keyboard sounds falling flat.

There is no need to continue the long litany of titles so much all are built on these same defects. What can be saved from this shipwreck? Perhaps the melancholic 'Dawn Will Rise', but which comes a little late or 'Remedy' which bears her name well. And... that's about it because the album already ends with 'Live Like A Dream' which wouldn't have been a problem on Coldplay's last album and on the weak 'Rider'.

Not doing the same thing from album to album is very commendable, but it is better not to do it if it is to make such a record. The album claims to be in opposition with America's current political establishment but the result is that everything sounds wrong and above all is counterproductive both from a musical point of view that uses the agreed and horipilatory gimmicks of music that the media promote, and in the marketing strategy adopted. - Official website

30 SECONDS TO MARS

AMERICA

INTERSCOPE RECORDS

ALTERNATIVE ROCK