From the
very first chugging riff and heavy growl of album opener, ‘’Champion’’,
followed by a pop-drenched chorus, it's clear that Falling In Reverse have a hard time
deciding which kind of band they want to be. And once frontman Ronnie Radke
begins to rap mid-way through the song, the line between post-hardcore and pop is
constantly blurred. It continues with the synth-laden anthems, ‘’Fuck The Rest’’
and ‘’Bad Girls Club’’, which sound just like every other pop-punk band, (with
a little extra cheese in the form of a cheerleader sing-along).
While the
title-track is catchy and radio-friendly enough for a lead single but with
typical lyrics and generic beats, nothing new is really bought to the table.
‘’Rolling
Stone ‘’sounds like a mess of brutal metal riffs and poppy hooks, while ‘’Alone’’
sounds like a mix between pop and synth-rock - it’s all very perplexing.
Still, Fashionably Late does have some
straightforward rock songs: ‘’Over
When It’s Over’’ and ‘’Drifter’’ strip the music down to simple hard-hitting tracks
with more thoughtful lyrics. The latter a sizzling country-rock inspired track
and one of the slower songs of the album.
But it all
dwindles down with ‘’Game Over’’, which uses actual video game music to
emphasise the song’s title, before the band turn back to the metal riffs and
vicious growls in ‘’Self-Destruct Personality’’.
Diversity isn’t a bad thing. In fact, it’s important to experiment.
But there is a right way to blend and explore different musical genres. This,
however, is not the way to do it.
3/10
