Pretty Girls Make Graves - Elan Vital (Matador)

Initial reaction: horrible. The second listen: not really any change. Considering this album is the band’s third, one would expect a somewhat established spectacle, yet it is the exact reversal. The lackluster performance can mainly be contributed to the loss of vocals behind the synths, guitar bends, and mush of insignificant noise; an injection of Red Bull to the vein still wouldn’t be able to revive this album. “Pictures of a Night Scene” is just a blob of confusion in itself. What could be a potential star track, “Pyrite Pedestal,” is the only song that could strike a particular need for bodily movement. There is a voice, but the distortion or reverberation is too powerful that it overrides the lyrics and vocal expression. Elan Vital, compared to their previous album, has an undeniable loss in their trademark emo angst and vocal clarity. PGMG dug their own graves with this one.

—Christine Jan