Okay, what I’m about to say actually fits within my character, especially since I voted these boys’ last album one of the best of the year it came out, but a lot of you may have a whiplash reaction. Don’t. Listen for one second.
The new My Chemical Romance disc, The Black Parade, is really, really good. It’s also what Chinese Democracy wishes it sounded like since lead singer Gerard Way seems to be channeling Axl Rose and Buckcherry’s Josh Todd in equal amounts throughout the album. The band backs him with a weird amalgamation of Queen, Guns N’ Roses, Cheap Trick and, well, more Queen. It’s been said that the band is inscrutable by a certain demographic over a certain age, but I submit they are only inscrutable by folks who have forgotten the confusion and overreaching drama that accompanies the adolescent years. And make no mistake about it, the teenage wasteland is MCR’s target audience. However I think there’s enough honest and compelling emotion in the songs to appeal to just about anyone with an open mind.
No, it’s not emo in the classic sense, but neither is it quite emo in the newer version hijacked from previous punk bands wearing their hearts on the sleeves. MCR is most assuredly a commercial beast by now, but at least the product they’re pushing seems grounded in an actual attempt at connection rather than simply rehashing old tropes in order to exploit the kids that need them most.
Here’s a sample of what teen angst sounds like today, bereft of any concern for the critical mass at large. No, it’s not this generation’s Nirvana, but that makes it no less delicious.
MP3: My Chemical Romance “Teenagers”
MP3: Download them at Hype Machine
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