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IN REVIEW: Billy Talent - "Crisis of Faith"

 


Covid-19 has had an undeniable and major effect on all walks of life, and the music industry is certainly no exception; in an environment where bands have become more and more reliant on touring to sustain them financially, it's not surprising that a lot of bands paused their plans alongside the rest of us as the global pandemic has raged on. With all of the delays, false restarts and uncertainty, it feels like the eventual arrival of Billy Talent's sixth album has been the result of one of the longest album rollouts ever experienced.

To put this into perspective, Forgiveness I + II, the album's lead single, was released in November 2019, which means the wait between that single's release and the album drop was only seven months shorter than the wait between the release of Billy Talent's first two albums. Reckless Paradise, the second single, followed in January 2020 while I Beg to Differ (This Will Get Better) came in April. So, in a way, most of the hype surrounding Crisis of Faith happened within a six month span nearly two years ago. Combined with the two additional pre-release singles, half of the album was well known to fans by the time Friday rolled around, and any time an album drops with only five previously unreleased tracks that's bound to temper excitement somewhat.

That said, let's touch on the singles quickly, even though fans are well familiar with them. Forgiveness I + II is one of the most ambitious ideas Billy Talent have put to tape, and it's ballsy to lead the album with it; wedging two disparate ideas together, the song warps from a standard fare Billy Talent single into a proggy, dreamlike dirge complete with an unexpected saxophone solo. It was far more surprising back in 2019, but it's still a bold move that deserves commendation. Reckless Paradise, meanwhile, is about as close to a prototypical Billy Talent single as the album has, full of jagged riffs, driving rhythm and fist-pumping chorus. I Beg To Differ closes the opening trilogy of singles with a vibe that's a harbinger of the overall feel of the album, so as to say it's got something to say about the current state of events while offering hope amid the chaos.

The other two singles that saw release before the album drop are perhaps the album's two biggest left turns. End of Me is Billy Talent writing a modern day sugary Weezer song in tribute to guest vocalist Rivers Cuomo, while Judged is a blistering minute and a half of snarling anger that temporarily jettisons the PMA for a punky little tantrum. These two tracks are admirable enough in their respective ambitions (a light power-pop radio smash and a muscular "we still got it" moment) but don't really add much to the overall album experience aside from a diversion from its cohesion.

This leaves us with the five "new to us" tracks, which mostly showcase the softer, more mature sound Billy Talent has been trending toward. The Wolf is a strings-soaked ballad that begs for a sea of cell phones in the air, while Reactor offers a slightly edgier medium tempo feel and the kind of rallying cry they've tattooed onto their DNA (that said, it'll wrap around longtime fans like a warm blanket). Hanging Out With All the Wrong People, meanwhile, offers some groove and an off-kilter beat that don't sound quite like anything they've done before while somehow sounding like the most Billy Talent thing ever; it's witchcraft, and it works.

The album concludes with back-to-back lighter tracks; One Less Problem ticks up the tempo but feels airy, especially with it's woah-ohs and bouncy chorus. Then, there's For You, a personal ode after an album's worth of outward-pointing messages; it's a heartfelt tune and is effectively touching, but it's a very straightforward three minute song without much of a payoff and, as a result, doesn't feel like a conclusion so much as just an ending.

Therein lies my main concern with Crisis of Faith; not that it's a bad album or that there's much of anything they could have done about it, but it doesn't truly feel like a proper album experience. Yes, it's got ten songs and it's a proper album's length in runtime, but piling on three singles from two years ago at the beginning and having the rest of it play out one song after another until it just ends unceremoniously makes Crisis of Faith feel more like a slapped-together collection of songs than a true album. I'm sure the majority don't care about that, and I've been known to be a little too nitpicky about this kind of thing, but I get the sense that this project may have been better served as a series of standalone singles followed by an EP comprised of the extra tracks. Given so much time to put Crisis of Faith together, I hoped for something a little better put together.

January 21, 2022 • Warner Music Canada
Highlights Forgiveness I + II • Reckless Paradise • Hanging Out With All the Wrong People

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