The best, most effective and memorable Mac songs, are the ones that perfectly marry radio-friendly sensibilities with quirky production touches. They don't have to do anything "experimental" at this stage (and, really, what "experiment" hasn't already been done?), they just have to concentrate on crafting good, solid songs. If they're pleased with the end results, I'm sure we will be too.
As for "Without You"... it's not horrible or awful, it just suffers from poor mixing and mastering. The song itself is solid and Stevie & Lindsey sound great. But the track is mastered way too loud (though it's not as brick-walled as "Sad Angel"), and the guitar parts are too high in the mix.
|