Lostprophets - Where We Belong
- by Deany Sevigny Release Date:2010-12-04 Label: Visible Noise
Another album, another clip-on fringe on the wigstand of Lostprophets lead singer Ian Watkins, and this latest effort, from The Betrayed, seems no more or less formulaic and forgettable than everything they've done since 2004's Start Something. For a band that seemed to begin with something to actually say on their 2000 debut Thefakesoundofprogress - full of anti-establishmentarian bile - they've become the Welsh answer to AFI since they've matured from angry youngsters to emotional thirty-somethings barely hiding their laugh lines under their eyeliner.
'Where We Belong' is the second single from their latest offering, and it's steeped in self-importance and woe. The monotonous guitar opener attempts (and fails) to add a feeling of suspense when you know you're being set up for failure. One can almost hear their souls letting escape a small tsk-tsk in disappointment. Watkins' singing style is a cross between Davey Havok and... Well, take your pick out of any other band of this ilk: Madina Lake? 30 Seconds to Mars? My Chemical Romance (only less shouty)? When he opens his mouth, for the first few lines you'd be forgiven for thinking someone had covered Red Hot Chilli Peppers' Zephyr Song in meticulously odious fashion, and replacing drug-addled gibberish with a defiant, hopeful message - Watkins claims he'll 'Take these storms away/Start a brand new story' and that he'll 'make it through each day singing death or glory'.
After the second verse has bandied its forgettable words (something about marching and thunder, perhaps? I dunno) and the drums have invited us to jump about like idiots, things really start to get incoherent as the ensemble take out a lot of upset on their instruments, culminating in nothing short of a headache that'd make even the most seasoned rock/metal fanatic shy away for fear of perforatedear drums - at least with Slipknot it's intentional, guys! This one's definitely for the Twilight fans out there; for those with Emily Strange pencil cases and 'I <3 GERARD WAY' scribbled on their maths books.
Dean Birkett
