Billy Talent wants to be the next Green Day: their sophomore release, , pushes past punk and cries for action. It’s not about breaking the rules; it’s about coming up with new ones. But a rule only works if it's understood, and this quartet’s up-tempo rock is doomed by lead singer Ben Kowalewicz’s unintelligible roar. “Where is the Line” is a great song that rebels against both the establishment and the counter-culture. It preaches that “to be yourself is not a crime,” that “magazines from overseas/won’t teach you how to feel,” and a some other stuff that's really hard to understand without a copy of the lyrics. Falsetto screams may be a necessary sacrifice to the gods of punk, but at what cost? I listened to the line “govern and governess” over and over again; out of sheer frustration, I finally looked up the name of the track: “Covered in Cowardice.” Why would you want such lines to get lost in the murk of production? Music is more than the music; it’s the message, too.
While we’re speaking of murky production, there’s a lot of undercut volume on tracks like “Perfect World.” Maybe it’s because the song itself is childish (despite the swelling final repetition of “she pulls the trigger/until the gun goes click”), but songs like these seem aimless and emotionless. This may just be an overexposure to Kowalewicz’s voice (he works far better when supported, like on “Sympathy”), but the last thing you want to do to a punk rocker betrayed by his jibber-jabber is take away his energy, too. A song like “Devil in a Midnight Mass” may be nothing more than catchy electric currents, but when the wailing suddenly turns into a raspy whisper, at least you’ll feel something.
Make no mistake, though: Billy Talent is crystal clear when it comes to the next generation, as in “Red Flag” (“The kids of tomorrow don’t need today when they live in the sins of yesterday”) or “Burn the Evidence” (“Ever feel like you’ve been cheated/following what they believe”). Catchy, correct, and presented with real attitude and husky rhythm, these kids almost swagger into adulthood. But for the most part, this band has a lot of growing up to do.
[www.billytalent.com]
