Written by Kaitlyn Monroe
Thirty Seconds to Mars has recently released their fifth studio album: America. America was released April 6th by Interscope, their first album in five years, which has certainly caused an uproar in the alternative community. Lead singer and guitarist Jared Leto has been quite busy, however; being casted in quite a few movies in those five years and has been noted for his part in Suicide Squad as the infamous (and highly attractive) Joker. Oh c’mon, we’re all thinking it! Anyway, this album like I said has caused quite an uproar and not just with the political controversy of Walk On Water but with a lot of the difficult topics Leto sings of, such as depression, peer pressure, other mental disorders, and his views on war, which isn't surprising with such a title as America and the constant fighting over the leader of our country and the “should have, would have, could haves” of all that's happened in the past year or two since the election. The band branches out quite a bit from their normal alternative rock vibes, they’ve managed to become a little more poppier and have added a lot more techo stuff, which I do think is a nice change. Though, this change has not been accepted as nicely as they likely thought it would. It seems though, from all the reviews I’ve done, the theme for alternative this year is to reinvent themselves, and maybe we should take a page from their books and reinvent ourselves for the changing times, and the new beginnings that we’re all going to face.
We’ve all had a lot of time to hear Walk On Water and Dangerous Night and a few songs on the album, such as One Track Mind and even Dawn Will Rise, remind me of the two earlier released singles. However three specific songs caught my attention, Rescue Me, Love Is Madness, and Remedy. These have easily become my soul jams for a while. Like all things, Thirty Seconds To Mars makes these songs have lots of feeling, lots of character, and lots of soul beautifully expressed by Leto’s smooth and silky vocals and the bands highly impressive talents.
Rescue Me hits me right in the feels, this song is strong in its message and in it’s music. A repetitive guitar riff that feels like butter and sick techno beats that give you chills and hit your bones. This song is about toxic relationships, and the strain they cause on your mental health. Jared is telling you to keep strong and that you are not alone, “sell yourself to save your soul” is the repetitive chorus line that sticks in your head and it’s extremely powerful. Although the theme is a tad dark the song makes you smile and want to dance. It’s relatable, it’s danceable, it’s feelable and I love it and I’m sure you all will too.
Next is Love Is Madness featuring Halsey, this song starts off bumping in the techno range and you get pulled in real quick --I feel like Thirty Seconds To Mars is branching into Marshmello’s territory with this song-- and I’m loving where this is going. This song pulls me into space, like i'm floating around up there and I’m in complete awe of what I see. When the bass drops and the chorus kicks in, it feels like you’re looking at the earth from space, like you were staring into the black emptiness of the universe, but then you see the white glow from the clouds and you turn your head, being faced with the blue and green swirls that makes up our home and you just finally realize how massive it is and it terrifies you but it’s thrilling all at the same time. You get transfixed and a huge smile spreads across your face as you close your eyes and you feel completely empowered and you shoot off into the galaxy screaming, breathing in your newfound freedoms.
I leave you off with Remedy, as Leto changed up his alternative, rock, pop, techno vibes for an acoustic session and its breathtaking. I feel like with the way times are changing an how things are right now this one best represent times in America as a whole and is something we all know is happening but choose not to address because we’re all stuck in our heads and can’t seem to feel for the people around us. The chorus line “do you hear what I got to say” is what ties the song together, we all talk to and hear one another but do we actually listen? Do we hear what others have to say and judge them or do we listen to them and understand their points of views and realize that we’re all people with our own voices and that we all deserve to be heard judgement free and that we’re all allowed to think and feel differently: It’s what makes us human.
At the start of this I didn’t know much about Thirty Seconds To Mars and never really listened to them so I had to do a lot of research. After listening to this album and learning of the impact the band is trying to make on the world I realized I’m a big fan. Not just because Jared Leto is the Joker, not just because the music itself is good, but because this band challenges society to think outside the box and to fight against the social norms and “oddities”. They’re refreshing, empowering, and worth giving a listen to. I give this album a 10/10 and two thumbs up from this girl!
Links to the featured songs below. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!
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