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Originally Posted by Routine Builder
I'd push back back on this. Critical Thinking guitar harks back to similar influences on THB like PiL. Decline and Fall has some synth work and Brushstrokes has the momentum of a Cure song. Probably more in there that I missed, The reliance on 80's influences has been pretty consistent from Futurology though RiF through Exile through TUVL to Critical Thinking, and might go some way to explaining some folks dislike of the last three albums.
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I agree. Everyone has their own pair of earholes, and perspectives, but it surprises me that some folks can't detect the common aural thread running through CT that ties everything beautifully together. There are even synth effects during the outro of OneManMilitia that sonically hark back to sounds heard elsewhere throughout the album.
It's funny you mentioning the Cure as I listed to the Head on the Door (Cure's pop masterpiece) and Critical Thinking back to back on my car journey home earlier. They're very different albums but actually complimented each other nicely and made for excellent listening bedfellows.
The CT sales dropping off a cliff are disappointing as the album deserves way better, but is more likely endemic of the state of the music industry and the way people consume new music now.
I love CT but all of this makes me very intrigued for what comes next - surely it's time for an album that is 100% a pure artistic statement from the boys, with absolutely no commercial sentiment behind it. Crikey, they're at a stage now where they've earned the right to put out an album of JDB fart solos if they deem that the truest representation of where they're currently at musically, but I'm sure we'll get something a lot more interesting to listen to.