From the first time I heard the single 'Try Honesty', Billy Talent grabbed my
attention like no other band from over the pond for quite some time. So it just
became instinct to buy the album, and what a great album it is. This debut from the
self-proclaimed ‘Canadian losers’ is exciting, emotional and above all fresh, which
is needed so much in the music industry right now.
It all kicks off with opening track 'This is how it Goes' which provides,
a shout-a-long chorus, catchy guitar riff and overall a brilliant introduction to the
band. A couple of tracks later you find yourself at the single track 'Try Honesty'
which respectively opens with a hypnotic guitar riff and then breaks in to the bands paramount track, taking the listening through the violent mood swings expressed in this song by Benjamin Kowalewicz. And the album progresses, with no real direction as an album, but the single material is distinctive with, the next single, 'The Ex', a 2 minute 40 second with a very dark feel to it and musically a general basic punk-pop track with once again, catchy chorus, and a standout track of the album.
Afterwards, once again, the album doesn’t really go anywhere, with the 3 minute 'River Below' showing the band’s talent musically but overall, an average song. It isn’t till 'Cut The Curtains' that things pick up again, another very-dark, single potential, catchy tune with a brilliant break down that will you have you shouting along, and yet being scared of yourself and what you are hearing at the same time. This follows with 'Prisoners of Today' another one of the albums best. Unfortunately, these are the only real positive moments of the album, the rest of the tracks are not very compelling and do not really does anything to the listener.
However, as a debut album, it is easy to tell that they are still a learning band, and that their future releases, should be brilliant.
Adam Turner-Heffer |