SHRINE OF NEW GENERATION SLAVES

I honestly find so many of Riverside's releases to be kind of overrated, with only their debut really holding my attention. Shrine of New Generation Slaves has not prompted me to change my mind. This time around I can tell that the band are trying to work a few more Pink Floyd influences into their sound - I can tell because they keep using that "telephone" filter effect on the vocals which bands trying to mimic Pink Floyd can't seem to leave alone - but classic-era Floyd would be embarrassed to put out an album quite as riddled with cliches as this one. Strip away the Floydian affectations and many of the songs boil down to fairly typical hard rock ballads - ballads with hilariously sophomoric lyrics. Call me the buzzkilling king of all spoilsports, but I just don't get the appeal.