Despite calling it quits over a decade ago, Far’s influence on the post-hardcore landscape can still be felt today. Their blend of melodic pop and metal has crept its way into the popular music landscape, even seeming to influence contemporaries like the Deftones, who still continue to experiment more and more with melody in contrast to raw, youthful aggression. Now, Far have returned with their first album since 1998 with At Night We Live, which finds them continuing down the trail they set off on when they split up. A logical progression from their last album, Water & Solutions, this album finds the band at their most mellow and polished, feeling like the most “grown-up” Far album to date. While this makes for a very solid record, it doesn’t capture the same excitement that their past works possessed. There’s still a lot of emotion flying around here, and tracks like “The Ghost That Kept on Haunting” are certainly performed with their hearts on their sleeve, but it all feels very subdued, even restrained at times. There’s always the feeling that the songs are just about ready to really cut loose, just teetering there on the edge, but they never take the leap. Perhaps the real issue here is that in their absence, the sound Far helped to push into the mainstream is now so common that they don’t feel as special as they once were. Fans of Far will be able to appreciate At Night We Live as a further evolution of Water & Solutions, but new listeners will have a hard time finding a fresh experience.