What? MCR is evolving!

My Chem have eliminated their past image and sound with ‘Danger Days’

By Angela Espinoza, Arts Reviewer

s I’m sure some of you remember, I wrote an article last week focusing on the

rise and fall of the emo genre. To clarify, emo is a descendent of punk coupled with emotional lyrics — not the soundtrack to your little sister’s problems. Plenty of garbage has come out of the genre, but some bands epitomize it in a far more appropriate way. One of those bands is My Chemical Romance, and yes, you can move over to that suddenly appealing next page.

There’s no point introducing the band to you after the radio wave frenzy that was 2006’s The Black Parade. MCR’s is a history spanning ten long years, and in that time, each album has improved critically from the last, along with their sound. Their latest album, Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys, is so far their best — to the point where you can barely recognize them. .

Danger Days is another concept album, but completely opposite TBP in every way. In the year 2019, the world has changed significantly

with the Skynet-like company BLi Industries, or BLind, taking over.

In California, a colourful resistance has started, calling themselves the ‘Killjoys’. One by one, they’re taking down BLind’s army, striving to survive in hopes for a better tomorrow. It is asking a bit much to have older listeners enter this world MCR have created, partly because they’ ve intentionally continued aiming at a younger audience. After all, it gives kids something to be less angry about. But with even MCR sick of their Black Parade image, they turned to Iggy Pop & The Stooges as a way to help themselves grow and improve.

The album opens with a Warriors-style radio skit (“Look Alive, Sunshine”) by a DJ named ‘Dr. Death Defying’ (Steven Montafio, AKA Steve, Righ?). This is followed by the first single, “Na Na Na”, the annoyingly catchy, nonsensical party starter for the rest of Danger Days. We’re then lead into “Bulletproof Heart”, which begins softly only to build up into a fantastically fun song perfectly summarizing the adventures of the ‘Killjoys’. The second single, “SING”, is nothing special; not by

any means bad, just one more pop- ballad. Meanwhile, “Planetary (GO!)” is a power-pop song with a Daft Punk feel meant to turn your brain off and jump around to. “The Only Hope

For Me Is You” suffers from similar problems to “SING”, although it’s definitely more energized.

Dr. Death Defying returns to give us a “Traffic Report”, where we’re lead into “Party Poison”. Way’s said it was meant to be a straight up dance song; this is so, but with ‘NewsAGoGo’ (Airi Isoda) screaming at you in Japanese during breaks to keep you going. Then “Save Yourself, I’11 Hold Them Back” comes in; one of the more rock-heavy songs, best described by Dan Martin of NME as “A massive... love letter to fans”. “S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W”, oddly enough, is an arm-swaying arena song with some serious Beatles-style guitar and bass. This — is followed by “Summertime”, a beautiful, nostalgic love song in the vain of Smashing Pumpkins’ softer tunes. After that sweet transition, we’re brought “DESTROYA”; an angrily campy, Korn-esque plead for anarchy. “The Kids From Yesterday” is a soft-rock piece the group wrote

more for themselves; they’ ve grown up considerably since they began, and this is the song on the album that definitely proves it. The Doctor then signs off with Star Spangled Banner, which is cut short by the final track. “Vampire Money” opens with Way asking his fellow members — guitarists Ray Toro and Frank Iero and bassist Mikey Way — if “they’re ready”. What follows is literally a Twilight-bashing, ‘screw you’ to conformity, Costello-based party song that’s just simply epic.

No one will blame you for turning a blind eye to Danger Days with MCR being so heavily connected to their ex-image. But four years have passed since then; a lot has happened (including the departure of drummer Bob Bryar), and it truly does show. This really is a different band we’re hearing, and while not the most original work in recent years, I’m willing to say it’s one of the best albums of 2010. Basically, if you’re willing to give it a try, then go for it. 4/5

Freelance Whales beached at The Biltmore

Sugary sweet music perfect for the season

By Cody Klyne, Arts Editor

Last Wednesday, despite the presence and persistent threat of snow, saw another great night of live music at The Biltmore. For little more than the price of a movie ticket, folks got out of the cold and onto the floor of the Cabaret in support of the opening act, Pepper Rabbit, and headliner for the night, Freelance Whales.

While I like to think of myself as being pretty “hip” or “in the know” when it comes to this sort of thing, I'd be lying if I told you I’d heard of Pepper Rabbit before they took to the stage. That said, I have no problem admitting my ignorance, especially when it turns out to be something that surprises me in a good way. Hailing from sunny Los Angeles, California, this two-piece (three . when performing live) instantly got my attention and wasted no time in

making a positive impression.

Given the size of The Biltmore, filling the space with sound isn’t exactly a feat in itself. What is interesting however is how easily Pepper Rabbit pulled rich, deep, downright lush noise out of the closet-sized venue. The inexplicable nature of the cavernous, haunting sounds I was hearing made me think of Mary Poppins magical bottomless bag. I could close my eyes and become enveloped in echoes fit for a space twice the size. While I admit that my excitement at the time was bolstered by a combination of a lack of sleep, too much caffeine, and the contents of a stack of PBR cans, I feel pretty confident in saying that Pepper Rabbit far and away exceeded my nonexistent expectations at the time.

. Touring in support of their recently released full-length CD, Weathervanes, Freelance Whales,

who are probably best known for songs: ‘Hannah,’ ‘Generator “ First Floor,’ and ‘Generator “ Second Floor’, represent a bit of a melting pot of a lot of the things that I love, and hate, about recent pop and popular bands.

Starting with the good; they’re a fun band to watch live and played to expectations. With most all of the five members of the band teaming up to address the vocal-situation for the night, there were more than a few moments when I had to snap myself out of my slow-motion gyration dance trance in an effort to pick out each voice individually. That’s how well their voices meshed together. Plucky and energetic, their stage presence was subtle enough not to intimidate, while being alive enough to get the crowd feeling alright.

For the bad, and I guess this speaks to a larger issue that I

have with the band as opposed to something that tweaked me at the concert specifically, the lyrical focus on adolescence is pretty well rote and almost instantly transparent as such. Perhaps it’s this, compounded by the lead vocalist’s tendency to slip into a very Adam Young (Owl City) voice, that make this a point of contention for me and my position as a fan of the band. I’m not trying to be pompous or harsh here (I like the band and paid to see them), but I’m pretty sure “Don’t let the bathwater get too high, you will be a flood of porcelain” doesn’t mean anything; it’s just lazy writing.

Ranting aside, Freelance Whales in concert made for a chipper evening filled with ideal winter weather music. Bells, banjos, chimes, and more, there’s something about the season that just bégs for this kind of thing. Thankfully, supply more than meets demand.

An