Review Summary: New Lostprophets album rages on life
Take hurried 80s-style punk beats, add a fusion of modern American arena rock and British pop, a touch of airy orchestral influence and a few well-placed vocal harmonics and you have Welsh group Lostprophets’ recent Columbia Records release, “Liberation Transmission.”
The follow-up to the band’s 2004 breakthrough album “Start Something” reached No. 1 on the British charts and mirrored the No. 33 status achieved by its sophomore counterpart on the U.S. Billboard Top 200.
“Liberation Transmission” is another poignant, socially-fueled fist pump from the South Wales quintet pointed in the direction of the blissfully ignorant and endlessly cynical population, as well as the establishment.
The British fivesome consists of singer/songwriter Ian Watkins, guitarists Mike Lewis and Lee Gaze, bassist Stuart Richardson and keyboardist/programmer Jamie Oliver.
There’s no shortage of inspiration for songwriter Watkins, who writes forlorn and fatalistic lyrics stemming from personal experience. His frustrations are offset with upbeat, poppy instrumentals that are easily stuck in the listener’s head.
On “Liberation Transmission,” like with previous albums, Lostprophets puts out contagious, move-the-masses emo anthem pop rock that caters to the oppressed, angst-ridden youth mentality. The band is kind of like the U.K.’s answer to AFI, but with less of a whine factor and better vocals. And, fortunately, lead singer Watkins is no Davey Havok (although it would appear that they go to the same hairdresser).
Many of the album tracks jump right into a desperate guitar-and-drum frenzy, then eventually give way to a slow, divinely melodic yet powerful mid-song break before picking up the pace again to finish out the song.
The album slips comfortably into this method with opening track “Everyday Combat,” a fast-paced ode to night life and dangers that lurk in the streets.
Their first, semi-overplayed radio hit single, “Rooftops (A Liberation Broadcast),” is a well-known anthem dedicated to living life with no regrets and letting emotions be heard that urges listeners to “scream your heart out.”
The second track and recently released single, “A Town Called Hypocrisy,” is arguably the best song on the album. It’s a roundabout tune that employs an almost overly simplified “La la la lalalalalalalala” vocal background and produces the sentiment “there’s no pride to be found when you follow sheep around/and no future here, no future for us in this town.” Track No. 3, “The New Transmission,” in which Watkins implores fake friends to “just fade out,” with its chord-heavy guitar and powerful keyboard break, is also noteworthy .
“4 AM Forever” is a slow and heartfelt, relatable tune that will tug at the listener's heartstrings about getting over the death of a close friend and the frustration of things left unsaid.
Many of the album’s song titles are overly wordy and complicated, such as “Can’t Catch Tomorrow (Good Shoes Won’t Save You This Time),” and “Broken Hearts, Torn Up Letters and the Story of a Lonely Girl.”
For longtime Lostprophets listeners, “Liberation Transmission” is better than their first album, “The Fake Sound of Progress,” but lacks the listen-to-in-its-entirety album and instantaneous-song-gratification qualities of “Start Something.” Some of the songs on this album have to be listened to more than once to fully appreciate, and a couple are altogether forgettable.
Still, while it may not change the world or start a revolution, “Liberation Transmission” goes a long way in proving that bands from the U.K. absolutely know how to rock.
While the album does leave some unanswered questions for the uneducated American listener — Where exactly is the DMZ? What’s a “goonie,” and why is Andie one? – it makes the band’s statement loud and clear: Life is harsh. People are painfully fake. You don’t have to be. Vent and let your voice and emotions be heard.
