After the gritty-edged punk sound of their previous releases, I have say that this comes as something of a let-down. Obviously, it's good to know that they can step beyond the limiting confines of genre, but 'New Low' just lacks something - namely, balls.
I always thought that Jane's Addiction sounded too flimsy, too lightweight to be really worth the time, and 'New Low' does sound very much like a Jane's Addiction knock-off. In aiming to produce a track with broader commercial appeal, that emphasises the melody over the attitude, the vocals dominate and the guitars, backed off and comparatively clean, sound all too thin.
I just hope MCR are using this as a way of gaining themselves a broader audience, before battering an unsuspecting public with more of the piledriving racket they're best at.
