Bullet Train to Vegas - We Put Scissors Where Our Mouths Are

More brash than gripping, Bullet Train to Vegas relentlessly pound through We Put Scissors Where Our Mouths Are with an energy that could have been better directed elsewhere. The music isn’t bad, per say, but it struck me as rather bland. One song jolts into the next, and you aren’t quite sure where in the album you are at any given time. What is constructed to be defiant and meaningful collapses like a balloon with its air let out. All you’re left with is a “Whoosh” as the band zooms on, flying through the air, empty balloon metaphor complete. And let’s get this out of the way: They sound most like At the Drive-In...with a Perry Farrell on vocals, perhaps. The core of my complaint is the content: Dark, abstract lyrics built on empty grandiosity. Missing, or at least un-accessible, is the undercurrent of meaning that makes this sort of music stand out. The good part? I’ve heard much worse. For lovers of the hardcore genre, I wouldn’t necessarily steer you away. Even I didn’t find the last track to be too bad. Shout along at the top of your lungs with these strangely unimportant anthems. Everyone else has been warned. [www.bullettraintovegas.com]