Review Summary: Not as bad as you may think...
Every now and then in ever corner of music, there seems to be a trend created, that eventually overwhelms an entire genre. Metalcore was once a term used to describe bands such as
Killswitch Engage or
Trivium, but recently a trend has developed for pop-infused, breakdown-heavy metalcore with a high emphasis on keyboards and synthesizers. Catapulted into the spotlight by
Attack Attack!, it has become an oddity; genuinely adored by the fans while, commonly, not being that good. There has been so many copies of this autotune-filled style, it was starting to get a bit unbearable. One Morning Left join the trend but the results aren't as painful as you may expect.
Let's get one thing straight before I even dig deep into the music - 'Bree-Teenz' is not an album that should be taken seriously. All I need to say is one of the songs is called 'This Song Has a Massive Autotune Chorus' to get across how much of an intentional joke this album is. It's almost like a self-parody. Just don't listen to this band looking for something to be taken seriously. Once you've done that, you'll realise the most important thing about 'The Bree-Teenz': it's a whole lot of fun.
The synths are upbeat and cheery and the heavier sections are bound to make to head-bang, this album really is a good amount of fun. The lead single off the album '!liaF cipE' (that's "Epic Fail!" spelled backwards), features a cool dance tune after a breakdown, which continues with heavy guitars and deep screams which really aren't all that bad.
'This Song Has a Massive Autotune Chorus' is very self-aware as, despite the vocals being layered in the aforementioned autotune, it's undeniably catchy. 'Reetu Inda House' continues what seems to be a fit of self-parodying with over-the-top "pig squeals", or "Bree's" (the noise from which the album's cover and name derives'). Whether it's intentional or not, this album will draw out a few laughs, but for genuinely good reasons, as it's not laughably bad, unlike other bands in this genre. The guitars display much more talent than the others; there's more than mindless chugging in here.
It's important that you do not listen to 'The Bree-Teenz' expecting a metalcore masterpiece. It's far from that. It is, however, far from being as plain bad as fellow members of this genre, quite ironically considering they appear to be parodying the genre itself. One Morning Left aren't to be taken too seriously, and when you don't there's a giant CD filled with metalcore-dance fun right here.
