Thirty Seconds To Mars – Love Lust Faith + Dreams
Review by Annette Schaefer
For months now Thirty Seconds to Mars has been building up a lot of hype for their new record Love Lust Faith + Dreams. Many fans probably wondered if the album would live up to all of the hoopla, and when “Up in the Air” was released reviews seemed mixed. I’m not going to lie I was kind of on board with the skepticism, but after one listen to the full album I found myself a bit more than pleased.
Much of the criticism around the trio’s new music seems to be centered around the band’s switch to a more synthesized, pop sound, but honestly the band has been moving in that direction since the release of This Is War. The band has come a long way from their 2002 self titled debut, and not necessarily for the worse.
Love Lust Faith +Dreams starts off with a bang with an epic intro track, “Birth”, and quickly moving into fist pumping and foot thumping tracks “Conquistador” and “Up in the Air”. For the most part the album holds the upbeat momentum throughout, with the exception of tracks such as “City of Angels” and “End of Days”.
The album is just as epic and gutsy as any 30STM album and is even more so with the addition of orchestral build-ups and even a few dramatic pauses. On top of that, Jared Leto continues to kill it on vocals especially on powerful songs like “Northern Lights”.
The only downside to this album is that it still sounds an awful lot like This Is War. The album definitely makes several significant steps forward, but it still feels like a sequel to the previous album. Also, I’m not a fan of frequent intro and transition tracks, although, this is something I would expect from 30STM. Despite the few setbacks, the band is clearly still moving forward with a relevant and uniquely 30STM sound and still give themselves room to grow further.
Whether you are an Echelon or a casual listener Love Lust Faith + Dreams is definitely an album worth adding to your collection. 30STM never fails to deliver aggressive and catchy rock ‘n’ roll with a healthy dose of drama.
Overall Rating: 3.5/5
Recommended Tracks: “Conquistador”, “End of Days” and “Northern Lights”
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