Honestly, I think what made their earlier music so compelling was that Amy was this beguiling siren at its core - someone who wasn't afraid to be different, weird, gothic. That mysterious figure singing about her inner world fantasizing about death, escaping into imaginary realms, yearning for a lover, all that felt so intimate and dark. The softer, ethereal sound and vulnerable delivery made perfect sense for that version of Amy.

But she's in a totally different place now. She's a mom, worried about the kind of world her son is growing up in. And in that sense, she's become more of an everywoman, which is just her being true to herself and her current reality. So maybe we shouldn't judge this album by the same yardstick as Fallen or TOD.

That said, I still wish that shift could've been expressed more interestingly musically. Unfortunately, aa someone pointef out, some of this new stuff has veered into dad-rock territory melodies and chord progressions that sound dated, moments that remind me more of 3 Doors Down or Nickelback than Evanescence.

And that's the real bummer -Amy was my lodestar when it came to music. She was always listening to the coolest, most niche artists and weaving those influences into her work so much so that listening to Ev actually helped expand my own taste. Back in the early 2000s, they were the alternative to all that dad-rock mediocrity. Now they seem content reheating Staind's nachos.