One step forward, two steps back ...

The album has somewhat surprised me, but not really positive. I really like all the albums of Colour Haze - with the exception of the very first ("Chopping Machine" from 1995), which completely falls out of line but also of style. Some of them have more "Highlights", others less so. But the bottom line is really convince all. While the band remains in terms of sound and style basically always faithful, there are just in the last couple of albums but a certain development and experimentation that I personally quite welcome and also very successful find. The previous album "She Said" 2012 is really strong! Accustomed groovy, yet extremely creative and versatile and with very long playing time. The benchmark for a new album was thus set course almost unachievable high and were in accordance with the expectations for the new album.

So I listened to the first track which - let's say rock solid Colour Haze numbers - with no particular strengths and weaknesses - and waited for the wow factor, the one with She-Said had been very clear from the outset. If the second half remained at least at the level of the first, one could say the album is just in the shadow of its predecessor, but is okay. Unfortunately, it sounds from song 4 for me rather as if the guys went through creativity during a jam session slightly. And not only that. The here and there not quite perfect game belongs practically to the style of the band. So conspicuous wrong note, such as in the middle of "Call" had but really need not be.
The genre atypical instruments that fit in She-Said still very harmonious in the snotty Colour Haze sound, fit in here somehow not really into the overall picture. At the latest at the theme song you just wonder what the artists so probably want to tell us ... It seems almost a bit like trying to push ahead with violence the slight change of style in recent years.
Well, and after a last short song and a total of about 50 minutes then already closing. Even that would not be so bad if some songs would act not as stretched. I am also certain passages have strongly reminiscent of earlier works. Since then blurs the now critically minded listeners sometimes the boundary between "Band Typical" and "recycling".

Bottom line, I give the album despite all the criticism 3/5 stars because it per se is certainly not a bad album. Compared to its predecessors in general and the last album in particular, it is in my view a total of just not so great success as one would have expected.
As a fan of the band or the genre to get at least the first half quite at his own cost, the rest is a matter of taste :-)