My 14 year old daughter, who was around when I played this album, shrieked with delight as the third track ‘Losing You’ came on: ‘They’re always playing this on Scuzz. Awesome band’. Apparently she’d previously showed me the YouTube video of it. I sort of remembered it because it was fairly catchy but it clearly wasn’t that memorable.
Appearances deceive. When I looked at the album cover and the picture of the band, it looked as if there was some punk-hardcore about them. The first track ‘Trapped’ belied this theory. Musically the track is an upbeat piece of Pop Metal, characterised by the harmonies and the singer’s sugary clear and innocent-sounding voice. The other striking feature which I was to hear more of is the ‘video-game music’ in the background. I first came across this term when reviewing a Machinae Supremacy album and it conjures up people playing mindless and addictive games. It all has an emo quality about it. Now I know about emos because my daughter professes to be one, and I looked it up on Wikipedia, which says: ‘Emo is a style of rock music typically melodic musicianship and expressive, often confessional lyrics’. This is a perfect summary of Dead by April, whose lyrics are as tortured and dark as hell.
The next track ‘Angels of Clarity’ steps up a bit. This reminded me of Sonic Syndicate, compatriots of DBA, as I believe they’re known in informed circles. Growls come in and add punch to the more than acceptable melodic sound behind the girlie chorus. The video game rolls on meanwhile. Then it’s ‘Losing You’. It’s commercial, catchy and emotional. But is it awesome or anonymous? ‘What can I say’ is the title of the next track. Smooth and and harsh elements juxtapose … no, let’s not intellectualise, it has those emo qualities and has powerful interjections but it didn’t grab me. I’m starting to feel as if I’m on some other, more complex planet than these people. The next track is summed up in one of its lyrics: ‘This is what I see. Emptiness in me’. It sounds just like the previous one.
And on it goes with more and more dreary, emotive pop metal ballads. The metal bit of it just rumbles on in the background to give a semblance of aggression. There are odd moments of encouragement. ‘Stronger’ has some balls to start with a stronger chorus than the usual plaintive dirge. The keyboards add a bit of breadth to this pleasant track. ‘A Promise’ has a much tougher beat, which gets watered down by those plaintive vocals, which I guess reflect the fact that we’re talking about people with problems. It doesn’t necessarily equate to great imagination or make for great listening. The blend of heavy guitar and keyboards works well though. The album ends with ‘I Made It’ which I thought I’d heard already but probably hadn’t.
I’ve never listened to a Westlife album but this is what I imagine it would be like, with a bit of Metal thrown in. Basically it’s Metal for Beginners. The band apparently describe it an ‘Explosion in Pop Metal’ but apart from ‘Angels of Clarity’, which I liked, it wasn’t much of an explosion. From the point of view of quality, for all its shallowness, it’s technically quite good. The singers can sing and the players can play. Maybe I’m missing the philosophical point here, but it would be a whole lot better and more inclusive if the thing took off and went in its natural direction of being upbeat instead of meeting the obligation of becoming enveloped in emotional darkness and gloom. Take note from the Finnish Goth bands, guys. There’s something here, but as it is, I sense that this album is really for the Scuzz-viewing emos out there.
http://www.myspace.com/dbaswe
http://www.deadbyapril.com
http://www.spinefarmrecordsuk.com
