Schoolyard Heroes - Fantastic Wounds

Schoolyard Heroes takes all the styles of teen-angst music -- nu-metal, emo, pop- and post-punk -- and channels it through a very angry young woman named Ryann Donnelly. The result is a hyperactively aggressive collection of songs on the band's second album, Fantastic Wounds. The album opens with "Body Shots," in which Donnelly invokes Melt-Banana frontwoman Yasuko O with her choppy, energetic screaming. This song sets up the rest of the album, diving right into the darkness with raging guitars courtesy of Steve Bonnell, sinster bass lines by Jonah Bergman and Brian Turner's assaulting drums. The album is definitely carried by Donnelly, and her voice will make or break the album for listeners. She does have a tendency to descend into annoying cartoon voice modulations, but in her best moments, her pouty voice sounds like an evil Gwen Stefani, and it's nothing short of a joyous experience to hear someone who sounds girly also sound so scary. With song titles like "Serial Killers Know How to Party" and "Funeral Parlor Tricks," it's pretty obvious where the band's collective mindset is. With an almost giddy appreciation for horror movies, the band's lyrics come across as more theatrical than serious. "We live like creatures/We love like homicide" Donnelly wails on "They Live." Still, the album does make an emotional connection. When on "Centaur: Half-Man, Half-Motorcycle," Donnelly purrs softly, "If you could live 1,000 lives, I'd watch you die 1,000 times," and it's not hard to imagine some kid sitting in his dark bedroom agreeing with the pain behind the sentiment. For such a young band (all members are in their early 20's), Schoolyard Heroes is impressively tight and confident. Fantastic Wounds shows promise of what's to come, and hopefully, the band will continue to scare and delight everyone for years. [www.schoolyardheroes.com]