Billy Talent - III

At the minute, Canada is ludicrously fertile territory for new bands; everywhere you turn, another one sprouts up, seemingly fully formed ('What's that? The Coast! Oh look - Tokyo Police Club!'). Despite this apparently endless production line of quality acts, Canadian alt-rockers Billy Talent have set their eyes firmly south of the border, hungrily conceiving a niche that combines Aerosmith with Sammy Hagar where none need exist. In order to fully realise the old-skool template for their third album, producer Brendan O' Brien has been recruited, but instead of capturing the raw sound of a band firing on all cylinders (as he did with No Code and Battle of Los Angeles), he opts for a sanitised recording that is more akin to Rick Rubin's polished sound. The result is the grunge equivalent of a Big Mac - the ingredients are all there, but it's a bit difficult to swallow and leaves a horribly synthetic taste.