Lock and Key - No Fate

The artwork for this CD is cool, really cool. Well actually, it’s the disc that’s really cool. It’s one of those mini-discs surrounded with a clear plastic ring making it the size of a normal CD with a graphic of a branch or an antler (I’m not really sure which one) over top the whole deal. Awesome, I know. It’s on Deep Elm too, a really cool label! This is going to be fricken’ sweet! Then I put it in the stereo, and well, I’m sure the disc still looks cool. Maybe even cooler now that it’s all spinning around quick, and the image is blurred and stuff. It’s not really that horrible. It’s just kind of bland, screamo by-numbers rock. Not particularly horrible, not particularly good. A lot of the songs start out promising with intricate instrumentals but then quickly descend into a pattern that we’re all familiar with, heavy drumming, distorted guitar, and strained vocals of emotional hurt. Not exactly at the forefront of musical development, but then again, every band doesn’t have to be Radiohead. All in all, I guess I should have just been content with looking at it. [www.lockandkeyrock.com]