Eventually, it has to be accepted, whether we like or not, all things must come to an end, and our beloved bands are no exception. Often you hear of bands announcing farewell tours, one last hurrah for the fans, but when MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE suddenly announced enough was enough, no one was expecting it. The New Jersey based emo icons had gone from strength to strength, always changing, always evolving, be it the theatrical-pomp of “Welcome To The Black Parade” or the futuristic undertones of “Danger Days”, they always ensured they were fresh and exciting, with fans not knowing what to expect from one album to another. Not that it mattered, given they had one of the most devoted fan bases of anyone you can think of anyway…so as you can imagine, when MCR called time, a lot of people were upset. Luckily however, every cloud has a silver lining, and this cloud comes in the shape of GERARD WAY. The charismatic frontman has decided to go it alone, releasing his debut solo album “Hesitant Alien”; is he right to be cautious?
The album begins with a track called “The Bureau”…a slow, methodical number, a simple drum beat plodding along almost lifelessly, and it’s a bit of a sluggish start really. The track gains some momentum towards its climax but it’s a little messy and hardly encouraging…thankfully however, “Action Cat” restores hope immediately with some infectious, up-beat bass driven indie-rock. It’s bold and it’s fun, with Way’s distinctive vocals a pleasure to hear once more in their clearer delivery.
“No Shows” continues along the route of melodic indie-rock but it’s on the verge of sounding all too generic with no real spark to it, despite sounding pleasant, which can also be said about “Millions” too. Returning to the darker, pulsing sound of the albums opener, “Zero Zero” adds a bit of attitude to proceedings without the monotony of said opener, but it’s still a slow burner, whilst “Drugstore Perfume” and “How’s It Going To Be” maintain the general, easy on the ears, jovial tones carried throughout.
Whereas I’m sure there are very many people welcoming back Way with open arms and ears, if you’re looking for a fresh dose of MCR, it’s not going to happen. It can be applauded that here we find Way once again trying something new, something different, reinventing himself for this new chapter in his career, but for a debut, it’s generally pretty flat bar a couple tracks that are no more than decent. The die-hards will lap it up because it’s Gerard Way, but it could have and should have been better. [6]
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gerardway
“Hesitant Alien” on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/hesitant-alien/id908544384?uo=4&at=10lMsK
The album begins with a track called “The Bureau”…a slow, methodical number, a simple drum beat plodding along almost lifelessly, and it’s a bit of a sluggish start really. The track gains some momentum towards its climax but it’s a little messy and hardly encouraging…thankfully however, “Action Cat” restores hope immediately with some infectious, up-beat bass driven indie-rock. It’s bold and it’s fun, with Way’s distinctive vocals a pleasure to hear once more in their clearer delivery.
“No Shows” continues along the route of melodic indie-rock but it’s on the verge of sounding all too generic with no real spark to it, despite sounding pleasant, which can also be said about “Millions” too. Returning to the darker, pulsing sound of the albums opener, “Zero Zero” adds a bit of attitude to proceedings without the monotony of said opener, but it’s still a slow burner, whilst “Drugstore Perfume” and “How’s It Going To Be” maintain the general, easy on the ears, jovial tones carried throughout.
Whereas I’m sure there are very many people welcoming back Way with open arms and ears, if you’re looking for a fresh dose of MCR, it’s not going to happen. It can be applauded that here we find Way once again trying something new, something different, reinventing himself for this new chapter in his career, but for a debut, it’s generally pretty flat bar a couple tracks that are no more than decent. The die-hards will lap it up because it’s Gerard Way, but it could have and should have been better. [6]
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gerardway
“Hesitant Alien” on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/hesitant-alien/id908544384?uo=4&at=10lMsK
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