![]() ![]() “I want to go back to the days in our car The chorus of “Burning Our Morals Away” is an apt summation of what the listener can expect: When he’s not covering the usual relationship bases, he’s dropping cliched braggadocio lines about “making a mark” and overcoming adversity. The lack of much excitement in the instrumental department puts the spotlight squarely on Craig’s shoulders, and the listener quickly finds that he has little to say. Where Craig’s former bandmates would push for greater technicality or experimental song structures, Slaves is content on songs like “The Hearts of Our Broken” and “Drowning in My Addiction” to stick to traditional verse-chorus-verse structure and an over-reliance on vaguely ambient production, courtesy of Cameron Mizell, complete with the addition of choir backing vocals. ![]() If you’ve heard Through Art We Are All Equals, you’ve largely heard it all before… which is to say, this is Emarosa-lite. The problem with this formula is it requires Craig to lean on the compositions he is handed by his collaborators to do most of the heavy lifting… and Slaves have consistently shown themselves to be tepid songwriters, content to recycle tired post hardcore formulas and cliches a sleep-inducing number of times. And yet these messages were nearly always packaged in a relatable, aesthetically pleasing manner, leading most listeners to happily let them slide. Upon re-examination of the lyrics of Craig’s solo song “Children of Divorce”, one finds little to no introspection, and some shady moral justification to boot. He has never been a particularly inspired lyricist, typically relying on his golden voice to help hide the fact that his songs tackle almost exclusively relationship issues, often from the rather narrow perspective of someone who seems unable or unwilling to accept any blame for what goes wrong in his life, and is happy to shift blame onto other parties. Slaves drowning in my addiction lyrics full#The primary force that has always prevented Craig from reaching his full potential is his inability or unwillingness to push himself as a songwriter, unless dragged along by someone else. ![]() However, on the album we did get, Routine Breathing, the weak links that have threatened to sink virtually every Jonny Craig project ever made prove insurmountable, leading to a record that feels largely phoned-in, overlong and devoid of genuine moments of inspiration. Perhaps under different circumstances, this sort of minor miracle may have taken place yet again. But Craig has in the past had a way of defying both odds and expectations to produce great records in a variety of projects, as his raw talent - coupled with talented collaborators who bring out his best - have shone through most of the obstacles he put in his own path. Considering this is a band fronted by a man who not long ago was scamming his own fanbase for drug money, and reportedly stumbling into studios blackout drunk to ad-lib vocal takes, it’s safe to say that both of those claims could be met with a healthy deal of skepticism. ![]() So the band quickly replaced the comeback narrative with a fresh one… this time, it’s about being there for the fans no matter what, and focusing on the music. However, lineup changes and a steady dose of controversy, culminating in the band’s expulsion from Warped Tour mid-way through their run, have quickly proved that story a manufactured myth, as it became clear that the old Jonny Craig is still among us. And my lord, how that narrative has shifted over the course of a mere year and a half! First it was a story of redemption - of frontman Jonny Craig finally overcoming his demons and making a fresh start in the music scene. Since their inception, Slaves have been a band that’s as much about the narrative its members painted for themselves as that of the actual music. ![]()
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