File Under: Rock/Experimental rating: C+ tracks 1. Velvet Alley 2. Kill Your Scene 3. Alien Amplifier 4. Cult of the Subterranean 5. Lubricating the Revolution 6. The Kids 7. Unkoil 8. Contender 9. Satellite 10. An American Paradox 11. Dig 12. Razor Sex 13. Cemetery related links Strung Out Fat Wreck Chords

Those who have followed Strung Out over their career, all seven releases to date, they will have noticed something, the sound of the band evolved in clear phases. Well, with this release, the evolution has come to a standstill.

Coming off like a greatest hits style records, An American Paradox, lacks the punch and continuity of their prior EP, The Element of Sonic Defiance. Those who heard the songs and the way they fit into that release surely had high hopes, as I did, when they popped in their copies of An American Paradox. These feelings soon gave way to the feeling that they were rehashing old grounds with the band, rather than stepping forward.

This album definitely feels out of place its release. It seems like the missing link between Suburban Teenage Wasteland and Twisted By Design. It does not lack the power of those releases, but with Strung Out fans accustomed to progress, this release will fall short.

Jewels like “Cult of the Subterranean” and “Unkoil” will keep everyone happy, but the search for something new will have to wait a couple years in hopes Strung Out can take us somewhere else again.

Samuel Barker is Senior Editor. Contact him at suma@rockzone.com.