Posted Aug. 20, 2004.
The Clarks "Fast Moving Cars" (Razor and Tie) 2.5 stars Sounds like: restrained radio rock.
During the past two decades, Pittsburgh rockers the Clarks have been tearing up the concert scene with songs that excite even the most timid fans into singing along. With their latest release, "Fast Moving Cars," the Clarks have toned their music down a notch. This is not the best choice for a band still trying to break into the national music scene.
For people used to the Clarks' occasionally fun tunes, "Fast Moving Cars" does not deliver. The band road tested songs "Happy" and "Shimmy Low" while they toured the country this past year. Neither song delivers quite as well as the Clarks' "On Saturday" and "Boys Lie," featured on their previous release, "Another Happy Ending."
The album comes packed with basic rhythms that beg for radio play, but lacks the sense of experimentation found on previous records. For a band that rules the stage, an album full of songs perfect for the radio may not be for the best. Regular Clarks fans will enjoy the rock rhythms but may be disappointed by the decline in imagination.
-Keith F. Shovlin
Instruction "God Doesn't Care" (Geffen Records) 0.5 stars Sounds Like: Creed, Puddle of Mudd and Audioslave teaming together to try to be Nirvana but failing miserably.
The title of Instruction's major label debut, "God Doesn't Care," would have been even more accurate if it was called "Nobody Cares" because the record is painfully unremarkable and awful. Instruction pretty much sounds like a second-rate Audioslave or Puddle of Mudd, both of whom are already pretty second rate now.
With seemingly provocative and cool song titles like, "Death to the Four Car Garage Band," "Your Punk Sucks" and "God Doesn't Care if We Blow Up the Fucking World," Instruction really disappoints through pretentious lyrics that are at best hypocritical, repetitive and just plain bad.
On "Your Punk Sucks," Instruction blasts popular rock singing, "You get the mediocre's interest, that's why you put them on the air." Note to Inspection: It's not such a great idea to denounce your only potential fan base.
Then on "Death To The Four Car Garage Band" the band sings "trust funds and post punk hair are doled out to the millionaires / a coalition to relate / I sold out but was too late." The last part really describes Inspection in a nutshell. Perhaps Instruction's message would seem more relevant if they had something better to offer than mediocre rock that they preach against. Maybe Instruction's next album should be called "We Wanted to Steal Your Soul but We Can't Because Audioslave Got There First and God Still Doesn't Care."
-Jorge Del Pinal
Letter Kills "The Bridge" (Island Records) 3 stars Sounds like: Good Charlotte's good-natured catchiness merged with Story of the Year's brand of wild rock.
A wide range of different musical styles are packed into a punky rock package on Letter Kills' debut record, "The Bridge." A distinct classic rock influence - ripping guitar solos and all - can be found on songs like "Time Marches On," "Carry You" and "Hold My Heart (Part One)." The band takes a folksy turn, complete with a tambourine, on "Hold My Heart (Part Two)."
"The Bridge" is appealing all around, but it is at its catchiest on more emo-based songs like "Don't Believe," "Clock is Down" and "Radio Up." For a band coming out of the mostly broken-hearted, angry or depressed Warped Tour scene, Letter Kills is usually optimistic and at times inspirational in many songs. On "Lights Out" the band sings "This hate is burning so let's watch it die / And when it falls, our voice will ring so loud! / Don't wait for tomorrow, raise your voice tonight!"
Overall, "The Bridge" is a solid record that effectively employs many musical styles. Some might find fault in the slight religious undertones but these aren't distracting, annoying or preachy. Letter Kills' "glass is half full" mindset and catchiness make "The Bridge" a refreshing and solid debut.
-J.D.P
My Chemical Romance "Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge" (Eyeball Records/Reprise Records) 3.5 stars Sounds Like: the gray area between Coheed and Cambria and AFI.
As far as concepts albums go, they're either hit or miss. My Chemical Romance's second full-length album, "Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge," is one that hits the spot quite well.
The band touches on atypical, occasionally morbid, but unusually interesting events such as the uncertainty of life in jail on "You Know What They Do to Guys Like Us in Prison," revenge from beyond the grave on "It's Not a Fashion Statement, It's a Fucking Deathwish" and the inevitable failure of a marriage of two eccentric people on "To the End." Despite these off kilter topics, My Chemical Romance has a very accessible and catchy sound that will quickly have listeners singing along. My Chemical Romance is firmly based in the emo/punk realm that houses bands like Finch, Coheed and Cambria, and Thursday. "Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge" isn't about trying to shock listeners with dark imagery but instead applying it to make something imaginative, thought provoking and quite original.
-J.D.P.
