Unsure what I make of it. The lyrics feel more forced without some of the subtlety and story telling of the first album. There's not enough viola melted in to the mix either with it feeling separate whenever it makes an appearance.
That said some of the bass lines are nice and funky with a full sound. Andy Guerrero seems to be channeling Tom Morello in places which is nothing to complain about and Tim McIlrath's guest appearance is a bonus, although he could have been better utilised.
There isn't enough varying dynamics in there for me which was something that I loved about their debut. The only songs that seem to try and end the cycle of heavy track after heavy track are stuck near the end and feel like they've been tacked on. 'Superhero' is the only track that has any real dynamic variation for me, though I may notice more on subsequent listens.
After all that I don't think there is anything that comes close to 'Mayday' or 'Anne Braden' from Fight With Tools and that is a shame. I also didn't notice anything that could recieve nearly as much airtime as 'Handlebars'. Not that I mind that so much, I hated that song until I properly listened to the lyrics which, and call me a pretentious skeptic if you like, I imagine most people who loved the track never noticed.
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