Lost Division - Cuts And Scars

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LOST DIVISION, initially formed in 2015, in Oulu, Finland as a bit of a lab band. Although they released a single in 2018 ("Wish You Were Dead"), sometime between then, and the release of "Cuts And Scars" (2020), Maija came on as their lead vocalist. When I found this out, I thought it meant they had a male singer first, but upon listening to their EP, I found out they've always had a female singer. It may be the tone of the album, but the overall vibe of it felt like it was originally written to fit someone else, and then toned down to better fit Maija.

The intro track "In Memoriam" did al ot to set my expectations for this album. A singer with a relatively limited range, "doing a job" with a little extra flare, with little to no genuine feeling for her lyrics. "Trapped" seems to reflect it almost as apathy in it's lyrics "Rape me with your lying"? Really? Maybe a one shot in a longer statement, possibly a repeated verse, but repeatedly between verses? It feels like someone said "let's start a band, with a female singer, and make her sing "rape me". That's a great idea!"

"The Queen" is about where the attitude of the album changed/improved slightly. Up until this point it felt like I was in an abusive relationship with someone I truly loved, and had "No God" to wrest me from my suffering. In "The Killer", the mild chugging, and solid, focused melodies gave me a sense of re-assurance, as if the author is discovering they are also capable of violence, and have the ability to reciprocate to her aggressor in kind.

In "Insanity", I felt like she left her armor off one day, got a visit from the ex, and spent the afternoon testing to see if that old magic was still there…and now he won't answer her texts, or voicemails. For a track of this title, I was really hoping for some "insanity", instead I get the sensation of a one-sided booty-call. The tempo is low, the rhythm standard, the leads are a bit sparse, and restrained…not really all that insane.

This album didn't really impress me. It was edgy, but not too edgy, chunky, but not too chunky, almost like they had a check-list for what was "good", and they matched it 93 out of 100. Which if you're trying to impress the person who made the check-list is pretty good, but if you're trying to get added to my collection, it's not that great. I feel like they need at least two more albums before the artists have tested one another's bounds enough to be able to push past par, and get up to what they can really produce.

Songwriting: 3
Musicianship: 3
Memorability: 4
Production: 8