By snoadmin
For many bands, attempting to make the transition to a more “respectable” sound and lyrical focus can be quite difficult.
For a band that once prided itself on wearing ghoulish makeup and writing songs such as “I Set My Friends on Fire,” reinvention has proven to be particularly awkward and ill-fitting.
Aiden’s latest album, “Conviction,” is a portrait of a band that is looking to shed its image yet doesn’t really know how. It’s admirable that the Seattle-based band is no longer simply trying to look and sound like AFI, but unfortunately lead singer William “wiL” Francis and company have decided to pilfer from the likes of The Cure and The Killers (who are themselves pilferers, although at least they have their own sense of style) instead.
That’s right, Aiden has ditched its Goth-tinged mall-punk sound in favor of Goth-tinged dance rock. In place of the metallic guitar riffs and over-the-top theatrics so prominently featured on the band’s 2005 release “Nightmare Anatomy” are slightly angular guitars and driving dance beats.
In accordance with their toned-down sound, the guys have mostly gotten rid of the makeup and eyeliner that characterized their horror film-influenced image. Considering that Aiden is obviously looking to be taken seriously, this shift away from the grotesque makes sense.
However, although all of the changes Aiden has made to its sound and image are well-intentioned, “Conviction” ends up being a bland album that feels like a Johnny-come-way-lately attempt to capitalize on the retro dance rock craze of 2004.
If nothing else, some of the songs are fairly catchy. “She Will Love You,” the second track on “Conviction,” is a Killers-style rocker complete with de rigeur ringing guitar riffs, driving beats and even some “oh-oh-oh” background vocals in the chorus.
Unfortunately, the band follows this exact sonic template on most of the album’s remaining songs. These tracks are competently performed, but they are all highly derivative. This wouldn’t be as big of a problem if the songs had stronger hooks, but they aren’t memorable enough to hide the fact that Aiden is covering too-familiar territory.
Probably the worst offender of this is the album’s first single, “One Love” (yes, the guys in Aiden have the nerve to name the first single off their new album after a Bob Marley classic). With a retro-inspired sound lifted straight from the likes of The Cure and New Order, as well as a piano melody strongly reminiscent of the U2 classic “New Year’s Day,” the song provides a perfect opportunity for listeners to play “spot the influence.”
Strangely (or perhaps not, considering that “Conviction” is basically a 37-minute-long plea by the band to be taken seriously), Aiden has also made a number of moves in an effort to gain some punk credibility even though the band’s sound no longer even remotely resembles punk. Not only do the liner notes for “Conviction” list Aiden’s tattoo artists (so edgy!) but the track “Son of Lies” features a guest appearance by Efrem Shulz, the enigmatic lead singer for the Orange County-based hardcore outfit Death by Stereo.
Although Shulz’s off-kilter-yet-powerful vocals easily steal the show on “Son of Lies” during the few instances in which they can actually be heard, the song itself is an ill-advised attempt to fuse Aiden’s punk roots with its new sound.
It should also be mentioned that Aiden hasn’t exactly made great strides in the lyrics department.
Although the band is no longer writing opuses about the occult with titles such as “Knife Blood Nightmare,” songs like “Teenage Queen” (which seriously features the chorus “Oh, tonight I’m a teenage queen [Sometimes I feel so beautiful]”) aren’t much of an improvement. It’s obvious that the members of Aiden want to write songs that are more heartfelt and genuine than their usual tales of all things morbid, but they lyrically don’t have the skill to move beyond the worst emo clichés.
Even though Aiden’s music has never exactly been high art, “Nightmare Anatomy” was a viscerally exciting record that featured enough gloriously over-the-top touches to qualify as a guilty pleasure. Now that Aiden is demanding to be taken seriously, the band’s flaws have become much more apparent, and “Conviction” is proof of that.
