Blue October’s past albums were dark, with a touch of upbeat, while the lyrics were deep, with a dash of meditativeness.

Yet in their latest album, “Approaching Normal,” the formula has changed to mostly upbeat smothered in monotony.

Justin Ferstenfeld’s lyrics are generally deep, sometimes disturbing and all around good. This time around, however, that’s only the case for about half of the songs, the other half being repetitive, predictable crap.

By predictable, I mean that the lyrics take on one of two common paths – either crazed, stream-of-consciousness style ranting or inflective songs with meaning.

For example, in “Say It,” a song that seems to be about a man troubled by an overbearing and manipulative lover, the words are almost lost because of the tangents the lyrics take. “You think you’re smarter than me/ Well everyone knows you will never be smarter than me/ That’s how it goes.”

In the song “The End,” Ferstenfeld throws the listener into the graphic story and deranged dialogue of a man that kills his incestuous girlfriend.

In contrast, “Blue Skies” is an upbeat song about being hopeful in midst of being in misery.

Songs like “The End,” “Say It,” “Dirt Room” and “Weight of the World” end up dragging on in its ranting.

One or two of this type of song would have been okay, but because they are the bulk of the album, I just want to grab Ferstenfeld and say, “Dude, we get it. You’re pretty crazy. Now, let’s move on with the song, shall we?” In addition, Ferstenfeld’s voice seems to be getting whinier, for the worse.

I had to take a 15-minute break halfway through the album to take an ibuprofen to counteract the raging headache his vocals had induced. However, the actual sound is very different when it comes to the band itself.

“Jump Rope” is probably the most notable of this, with its upbeat middle-eastern sound mixed with mellow guitar. Then there is the mellow, somber sound of “Picking Up the Pieces.”

I particularly enjoy the driving beat behind “Dirt Room,” which goes great with the very subtle violin pieces that weave in and out through the song.

If you’re a Blue October fan, then you’ve probably already bought this album and stopped reading this, calling me whatever names you feel fit best under your breath. If you merely like Blue October, than hear me out: This album pretty much sucks.