REVIEWED: Option Paralysis by The Dillinger Escape Plan



If there is one thing that I would like to complain about, for the moment, it is going to be about the cafeteria at my office. Starting from August this year, a new operator had taken over the running of the cafeteria at the college, and as such, anticipation was quite high among all lecturers because we figured it is about time we get to eat delicious (and should I add quality) food. The previous operator was pretty decent, but because (I suspect) they had ran out of ideas of what else to serve, the last four to five months of their tenure at the cafe was an excruciating exercise in serving basically almost the same thing everyday. Safe, yes, but pretty bland. Thus when the new operator came in, our expectation was understandably (hopefully) high. For the first three to four weeks, their food was excellent. All the dishes look inviting, they all tastes amazing - it's all very exciting. Come October though, something drastic happened. All the fantastic dishes that they used to serve pre-October is there, but the excitement is no longer there. They still serve the same food, but what makes the October food not as good (or any good) as those served pre-October is the difference in taste - or the lack of it.

Now, why the Hell am I on about the cafe food at the college is because I would like to use it as an anagram to describe what I think and felt about Dillinger Escape Plan's latest offering, Option Paralysis. To review the band's fourth full-length studio album, I have to compare it with their previous album, Ire Works. Ire Works for me is like the cafe's pre-October food - they are genuinely amazing. You feel excited and giggle like a small child in unbridled joy; you marvel at its' amazing quality; you secretly believed that the future is shining brightly like the sun over Sahara for them - you wanted the future to be even better with them. When the third album was released, I felt all the fore-mentioned emotion because it was such a huge leap for the band musically. Before that album, they are just another band in the shout-whatever-the-Hell-you-want-nobody-gives-a-fuck-as-long-as-it-sounds-awesomely-ear-shredding music movement; or the one that I like to call it as the 'awesomely pointless' music. With Ire Works, the band had taken a long, hard look at sounds, pauses, breaks, beats, loops, samplings, and most importantly, melody - and not just odd time signature and killer riffs. For once, Dillinger Escape Plan sounded like they had actually carefully planned and diligently crafted the album so that the whole package feels solid, and wholesome. It doesn't sound like a car that has been chopped to pieces and held back together again using gaffer tapes. The album feels complete, sounds complete, and for once actually makes complete sense.

Which then brings us to their follow-up, the fourth album. This new one is like the October food at the cafe. Some of the ingredients that makes up pre-October food is still there, used to a good effect, but it feels half-hearted, it tastes half-cooked, and it looks like a half-witted buffoon. The opening track, and probably incidentally, their first single off the album, "Farewell, Mona Lisa" sounds convincing enough to make you believe that it was a continuation of the great third album. However, you are only going to be fooled for five and a bit minutes when the song ended because by the time you hit "Good Neighbor", the second track, all Hell suddenly breaks lose. There are no more clarity in their effort, no focal sense of direction, no feel for the art that they have so successfully created before. It doesn't thrill you, or amaze you, or left you giggling in awe. It feels like as if the band decided "ah fuck it, to Hell with it" with this album.

There are a number of good moments like for instance "Chinese Whispers" (which I strongly believe is the only stand-out track) but they come very rarely and very far between. Please do not get me wrong - it is not an entirely rotten album either. It is a good effort, but on its own. Put it in perspective with Ire Works and suddenly this album sounds like they had just demolished the Louvre, then glued all the pieces together using paper glue, using the logic of Wacky Tunes. It's rubbish.