You Are Here communicates such an air of childproofed benignity that it almost feels wrong. Perhaps that's because Black's production style is completely de-clawed, sanding down every little piece of grit into a soft, compressed sound - none of the heavy reverb one might have expected from a project so heavily indebted to the 80s is present here. It particularly deadens the palm-muted verse bits of "One Thousand Nights" and the self-titled closing track, both of which arguably feature rather cookie-cutter song-writing that could have used some assistance from a sound that wasn't so sterilized.
Earnestly light-hearted and easily palatable as You Are Here is, 2014 still belongs to the misanthropes and the nihilists (but thankfully not the national socialists). That being said, I think Black's throwback to a simpler time in metal history will appeal to many who can look past the record's flaws and indulge in good, old fashioned hard rock optimism.
01 When The Lights Go Down 4:08 02 I Need Your Love 4:16 03 One Thousand Nights 4:17 04 Reminding You Of Me 2:17 05 The Last Night 3:58 06 Can You Hear Me 3:17 07 Gone To Pieces 4:43 08 I Will Run 4:15 09 High Spirits 4:17