The law of diminishing returns came to mind, which put me into alert mode as the rollout for this latest album began. The three singles that were released in advance felt flat, maybe a bit hollow, and with each new one my hopes for the album dropped accordingly. Was I simply tired of the band treading the same water? Well, a listen back to "Blackout States" told me I still love that one just as much as I ever did, so I'm not sure that's the answer.
To paraphrase Hamlet; Ah, here's the rub. Michael and his band continue to make sleazy rock and roll songs that remind us of the dirty stories of the filthy streets of the old days. That is so quaint, and honestly antiquated, when we're faced with existential crises every time we look at the headlines. I'm not saying artists like Michael should be writing songs that sound like preaching the gospel of modern times, but the wistful feeling about the days when we praised rock stars for being addicts and assholes doesn't play as well when we're all just trying to survive.
But again, none of that would matter if the songs were still as sharp and hooky, which they aren't, at least on the first half of the record. Look no further than "Black Cadillac", which is a slow dirge where the chorus is merely chanting the title, done so with backing vocals that reverberate in a way that masks Michael's voice. That makes the 'gang vocal' actually sound small, and not powerful at all, which goes against the entire way the song is constructed. I don't think it would be all that great anyway, but the choice doesn't help matters.
"When The Apocalypse Comes" trades in a chorus for a single line, which doesn't really work for me as a release after the verse, and especially when the cadence of that verse is one of those moments I swear I've heard before in one of his songs. There's the law of diminishing returns put on display. The same is true of "Painless", although that song at least has a tempo and chord droning that is a little something different for Michael. It distracts a bit from the lack of a compelling melody.
When we hit the middle of the record, "Disconnected" and "Precious" dip into what makes Michael's music so much fun, with "Pushin' Me Back" forming a trio of songs that make me wonder what I had spent the previous twenty minutes listening to. The shift in tone is jarring, as all of a sudden the band sounds alive, the songs have punch, and we've got ample reason to headbang and sing along.
That leaves me asking myself an interesting question; is it better to have a full album that's merely 'ok', or an album that is half forgettable and half really good? That's the difference between this album and the previous one. The second half of this album is really good, and I would probably put ahead of almost all of "I Live Too Fast To Die Young", but the first half is the most tepid group of songs I've heard from this era of Michael's career. I can't say I love either album in full, and I'm not sure I have an answer to the question I just asked. I will likely get more replays out of the good songs on this album, but I might be less eager to put it on knowing what it will take to get there.
My biggest takeaway from "Outerstellar" is disappointment, not so much because of the quality level, but for hearing in it the band still has plenty of great songs in them, but for some reason makes us sit through their worst material before we get to hear it. I don't say this often with records that are only forty-three minutes long, but taking two of those early songs off to make a thirty-six minute album would have made this a better record, and one I'd be far more excited about.
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