Judging from their latest album “Liberation Transmission,” it is clear that Lostprophets want to be nothing less than your new favorite band.
“Liberation Transmission” is one of those mainstream rock records designed to be a commercial juggernaut by appealing to everybody. It’s almost like a perfectly cultivated sonic recipe: take the heavy-but-polished guitars and deadly earnestness of post-grunge, mix with the chord changes and too-perfectly anguished vocals of Yellowcard and Hawthorne Heights, add a dash of “American Idiot”-era Green Day, and voila! You’ve got a record that summarizes the state of modern rock radio in 2006.
Of course, the downside to this approach is usually that the end is more generic than engaging, and Lostprophets fall into that trap on “Transmission.” Yeah, their songs are catchy, but the Welsh alt-rockers lack any kind of individuality. In the end, the listener is left with 12 appealing-yet-forgettable tracks of commercial rock carefully engineered to take over the airwaves.
Despite the fact that “Start Something” sold more than a million copies in the United States and U.K., Lostprophets apparently decided they needed a change. Gone are the shoulder-length hair and grungy jeans. Instead, the guys are now rocking skinny ties, vaguely threatening black clothes and combed-down bangs perfectly cultivated to cover their faces, perhaps suggesting that they got their new image from an AFI Do-It-Yourself Kit that they bought at their local Hot Topic.
Lostprophets’ new image is also reflected in their music, which attempts to incorporate elements of emo-pop and post-hardcore, although the end result sounds closer to generic hard rock. Then again, recent efforts from the likes of Taking Back Sunday sound like generic hard rock as well, so perhaps these guys aren’t that far off the mark after all.
Part of the problem is the group’s decision to enlist veteran Bob Rock as producer. Rock, who produced Metallica’s self-titled “Black Album,” among other high-profile hard rock albums, is a pro who certainly knows what he is doing, but his pristine and commercially-minded production style sucks much of the grit and soul out of
It’s obvious that Lostprophets aren’t gunning for indie credibility, but Rock’s production makes their songs sound even more like commercial product and less like real music. When you work with a producer whose only experience with music even remotely considered “punk” was producing Simple Plan’s last album, that sort of thing is bound to happen.
That’s not to say that the songs on “Transmission” are awful. Most of the tracks are at least fairly catchy, and the first three songs actually sound not unlike the bands often featured on the cover of Alternative Press. “Everyday Combat” is driven by explosive drumming reminiscent of post-hardcore (and with vocalist Ian Watkins’ occasional screams, the track borders on screamo), while “A Town Called Hypocrisy” and “The New Transmission” are chunks of aggressive yet squeaky-clean punk-pop.
By “Rooftops (A Liberation Broadcast),” Lostprophets revert back to their old post-grunge ways, although this tailor-made first single is so deliriously catchy that you probably won’t mind how derivative it is. Most of the remaining tracks are in a similar vein, although none of them are even as remotely memorable as “Rooftops.”
Lostprophets’ desire to court the largest rock audience possible is also reflected in their lyrics, which are vaguely anti-establishment and pseudo-confessional in nature. By taking this generic rage-against-the-whatever approach, they ensure that many listeners will identify with the lyrics, but it is never clear exactly what they’re rebelling against.
Overall, “Liberation Transmission” is a collection of hard rock that is decent enough but doesn’t stick in the mind for very long. Lostprophets want to make the sonic and visual transition from post-grunge to post-hardcore, but the end result is more like 30 Seconds to Mars than Thursday.
