Me, me, me, me, me. It's always about YOU, isn't it?
After producing several demos and self-releasing two albums (in the words of the late, great Roy Castle, 'dedication's what you need' - and maybe an iron lung), Me (Against The World) have hit the mainstream with their new album (inexplicably named I.D.S.T) - courtesy of Casket Music.
When I was asked by a friend to describe what Me (Against The World) sound like, (I was trying to rapidly change the subject after discussing The A Team for what seemed like hours), the best I could come up with was 'think Violent Delight playing old Green Day songs' and I'm finding it hard to improve on that appraisal.
Me (Against The World) assert that their ultimate goal is 'to rock'. Well, in this humble reviewer's opinion: they don't. They pebble. Let me explain...
Although 'Cannonade' opens strongly with a great bass guitar and drum fill, a distorted voice soon intrudes to inform the listener that 'There are no bad guys...just disturbed guys'. Hmm. It seems I was wrong about characters like Hitler and Pol Pot all these years then. Maybe if they'd chatted to a psychiatrist over a cup of tea and a custard cream, the lives of the millions of people they slaughtered between them could have been saved...I don't think so.
Anyway, let's get back to the music. 'Cannonade' then lurches into pop-inflected rock and immediately sets up the album entire: bouncing melodic riffs, a frantic, undulating bass, crashing cymbals and shouty backing vocals. That's pretty much it. I listened to this album straight through twice while writing this review and I'll be buggered if I can remember any fantastically inspired highlights that made me rewind and reappraise. Lyrically it's crammed full of genial angst and we're-gonna-make-it-don't-let-the-man-bring-you-down sentimentality - as well as the customary romantic overtures - all perfectly fine in their own way but it's nothing fresh or exciting.
'Us And Us Alone' is noteworthy only for Chris Hawkes's hilariously over-egged English accent, which also sullies the pop-rock-ballad '(You're Such A) Pretty Thing'. It's obviously not his fault - that's just the way he sings - but unfortunately it compounds the hokey-jokey-poppy tone of the music - which is further reinforced by 'Impossibly Grey'. Why? Because it inexplicably nicks the chorus from Roxette's 'It Must Have Been Love'. How hideous.
Over the course of the album, songs drift into one another like raw sewage and inflatable party rings at the beach and although the musicianship is strong, the energy high and the vocals passionately delivered, the monotony of the songs is such that the album rapidly sinks to a watery grave.
If you're a fan of radio-friendly, smartly produced and inoffensive pop-rock, then this is an album for you. The more hardcore among you would be advised to steer clear and I'll tell you why: If bands like Pantera and Machine Head are the Jack Daniels of the rock world, Me (Against The World) is the Bacardi Breezer - synthetic, sugary and for girls.