"Pathways" The Birthday Massacre Album Review

    I'll be honest, I haven't been keeping up with The Birthday Massacre's current album releases. I just noticed they put one out last month while I was looking for song lyrics from them. I was surprised at the track listing, as there are only 8 songs. It ended up being a pretty quick listen, I ended up listening to it twice in a row.

    Here's a brief review of the songs before I give you my finishing thoughts!

1. Sleep Tonight: Track 1 started out pretty cool, I love when they do their heavier sounding tracks like "Red Stars" and "Over". My favorite part of the song is around 3:14, it's a neat breakdown. It reminds me a bit of "Pins and Needles". This track is my second most liked song out of the album.
2. All of You: Track 2 sounds like your typical Birthday Massacre song, familiar formula. It's not bad sounding at all, but it doesn't stick out to me either. It was a contender for my third most liked song, but it lost to track 4.
3. The Vanishing Game: Track 3 sounds a lot, a lot, like Nine Inch Nail's "Everyday is Exactly The Same". I encourage you to listen to and compare the tracks back to back. You'll be surprised, it's actually pretty fucking crazy. I don't know if that was intentional. Another so-so song for me. 
4. Pathways: Track 4 is the titular song of the album and it is my third most liked song out of the album. I feel the same way about the track as I do track 3. It's your typical Birthday Massacre formula. The chorus is pretty catchy, it makes the song sound like it's sighing. Quick and cute, it is my third most liked song off of the album.
5. Whisper: Track 5 is my favorite song out of the whole album. I love when Chibi does that scary thing with her voice, prominent in songs like "Blue" and "Down". It's a very atmospheric song that makes you want to sway back and forth. It sounds like a classic Birthday Massacre song, I wish the album had more songs that sounded like track one and five.
6. Wish: Track 6 is the most 80's sounding track off of the whole album. As a matter of fact, it sounds a lot like "Don't You (Forget About Me)"  by Simple Minds. Again, I encourage you to compare the two songs back to back so that you can hear what I hear. I don't know if that was intentional, like track 3. I like when they do more poppier songs, their covers of "I think We're Alone Now" and "Open Your Heart" are really good. I'd like this song a lot more if I couldn't associate it with another song. ALSO! The guitar parts sound like the  "Goth Star" cover Health did of Pictureplane's original song. Just give it a listen!!
7. Faces: Track 7 sounds exactly like "Pins and Needles", I'm sorry. Especially with that opening, man. Same formula and everything. Go ahead and give them a listen for me! Not bad sounding, just not outstanding. Edit: Apparently it's an outtake from the same frickin' album! It was uploaded to Patreon a couple of years back. Interesting...
8. Cruel Love: I took the liberty of skimming through the last tracks of their albums "Violet", "Walking With Strangers", "Pins and Needles", Hide and Seek", and "Superstition". The Birthday Massacre loves to end their albums with slow, shoegaze-like, atmospheric songs, lol. This track is no different! It gives me the same vibes of songs like "Always" and "Movies". The song sounds quite somber, like it's saying goodbye to its listeners. Really love the line, "That we are the last romantics, death of an era". It's not a bad song, it's just not any different from the ending tracks from their previous albums.

    Final summation! Unfortunately, this album failed to give me at least one defining song from the whole album. There is not one song that makes me want to come back to the album. Ex: In my opinion, the album "Under Your Spell"'s shining star is "One". If I had to choose the song, it would be that one. I love that song! I didn't get that from this album at all!

    The album was really short, shorter than the rest of their discography. I suspected that they re-used some elements from their previous albums, outtakes and such. I didn't expect there would be an actual outtake! The album feels kind of neglected. Something that had to be put out for the sake of being put out.

    "Pathways" is lackluster and pales in comparison to the rest of The Birthday Massacre's discography. Half of the songs are decent, while the other half are forgettable. It's impressive that The Birthday Massacre's sound has not changed after all of these years; That can be a good thing or a bad thing. In this case, that fact did not work out in their favor. The album is nothing new, nor is it anything different. Unfortunately, I'm going to have to rate the album 2.5 out of 5 stars :( Not my favorite at all. I hate having to do that, as The Birthday Massacre is one of my favorite bands of all time. Even the album art isn't as enchanting as the others.

    This album is not enough to push me away from future releases, as I am a dedicated fan! I look forward to any future releases, even if I have to wait 10 more years for one!