I have to be honest. After listening to some singles, I was uninterested in this new Scott Stapp album. I really like him as a singer and I love some songs by Creed or his solo career or projects (Art of Anarchy, above all), but the production of the title track and especially "
Black Butterfly" (come on Scott, you don't need autotune, you are a great singer) put me off. But I gave it a chance anyway and I'm happy I did it.
The lyrics are, as always, very intense, personal, and kind of dark, Scott's trademark. There are lots of ballads too, and honestly, I prefer Scott's voice in this environment so I can't say I am not happy about it. As I said, I didn't like the single "Black Butterfly" and I have also mixed feelings about the title track, a little too modern in terms of production for my taste,. but some songs struck me on the first listen. "
When Love Is Not Enough", and especially "
What I Deserve" and "
Dancing In The Rain" are beautiful power ballads, for instance. Good songs are the energetic "
Deadman's Trigger" and "
Quicksand" and Scott's vocal performance is spectacular in terms of intensity in the second part of "
You’re Not Alone".
"Higher Power" is a good album, with the right length (39 minutes for 10 songs), different types of songs (but with an inclination toward power ballads, I warn you in case you are not a fan) and good songs, the main ingredient for a good album. I think you will see this one in my personal top 10 of 2024, at the end of the year.
Rating 70/100
Top tracks: "When Love Is Not Enough", "What I Deserve", "Dancing In The Rain"
Track List:
Higher Power
Deadman’s Trigger
When Love Is Not Enough
What I Deserve
If These Walls Could Talk
Black Butterfly
Quicksand
You’re Not Alone
Dancing In The Rain
Weight Of The World
