SMILE EMPTY SOUL
3′s
[eOne Music]
7.5
Smile Empty Soul is one of the special bands I’ve actually followed for years and am still following with elevated interest. Sadly, their last two albums haven’t quite been what I was hoping for from the band. If you were to rewind, the albums Smile Empty Soul and Vultures were spectacular. In all honesty, I never heard the Anxiety album since it didn’t see a proper release until recently (though it was recorded like six years ago), so I’m not sure how that work came out. Then came Consciousness, which took me some time to get into. It still has plenty of good rock tracks, but I wasn’t replaying that album over and over like I did with the older ones. Now we have 3′s, which has a similar effect on me. It is definitely an above solid rock outing with a fair amount of memorable moments, but I still feel like it’s missing something. Granted, I love that it feels more like their self titled record, but it also doesn’t call me back for more. Nonetheless, when actually playing the album, I thoroughly enjoy myself. This is a Smile Empty Soul record for sure, even if it isn’t as good as some of their older work. It’s at least a step up from Consciousness, so maybe their next one will be up there with Vultures and the self titled record. (By Nathaniel Lay)