Neurosonic - Drama Queen

The premise: metal riffs with pop hooks. It's not even an original idea but Jason Darr decided to roll with it anyway. Drama Queen is kind of like Linkin Park hooking up with The Backstreet Boys and then challenging all our musical perceptions by coming up with something even more unpalatable. The guitar is distorted but stuck right at the back of the mix and the drums frequently dabble in Nine Inch Nails style electronics but to no memorable effect. When Neurosonic fire some sentimental acoustic finger-picking into the mix it feels almost time to give up. Looking to stir up some infamy by broaching such 'taboo' subjects as Ashlee Simpson's 'lip-synch' storm, Darr has at least considered that this record will need something to market itself with. Yet he litters the annoying high-pitched vocals with myriad trite lyrical clichés: 'The day I ran away, it's never gonna be the same' - insightful stuff... Likewise 'I Will Always Be Your Fool' is a 3.49 minute opus in hackneyed drivel. Anonymity beckons. [Jamie Borthwick]