Cursive

After the career high-water mark that was 2006's Happy Hollow, the band's latest full-length sounds like a collection of half-finished ideas performed by an exhausted group of individuals. Which is excusable, given the live intensity demanded by not only Happy Hollow but much of the band's charged back-catalogue. Still, Mama, I'm Swollen is un unexciting collection of mid-tempo emo that wants to believe it's indie rock, drawing more from the Deep Elm roster than anything ever released by Touch and Go. It's mostly forgettable but a few tracks, like the bouncing, discordant "Mama, I'm Satan," offer some memorable moments almost on par with the band's classic debut, The Ugly Organ. Mostly, though, the band play it safe, never exploding with the intensity of past standout material.