The big question for me is would 30STM be as big as they are now if Jared Leto wasn't their singer? They're pretty much the cookie-cutter emo band, all dyed black hair and depressed lyrics, interspersed with the genuinely good moment. But for all Leto's anguish and the spiky guitar riffs, is the celebrity bravado and copious amounts of eyeliner simply disguising a band that sounds no different to the likes of The Used and various other similar acts?
'A Beautiful Lie' would tend to suggest 30STM are probably bigger than they should be. There's a lot of filler here. A lot of filler. I would say that two thirds of the songs are average at best and some of those are dreadful. There's very little imagination and the tracks tend to drift in and out of each other with very little distinction. Add to that Leto's vocals just sound identical to every other emo-rock frontman around. Close your eyes and he's just a poor man's Gerard Way. But in amongst all the crap are a couple of decent songs, guilty pleasures almost. 'The Kill', for instance, is a decent song. Overplayed on the radio and TV for sure, but a decent tune nonetheless.
I can't help but feel the presence of a couple of strong singles, and a celebrity singer, has helped this band get a very large lift up the ladder. They're no better than a lot of bands and certainly a lot worse than bands that languish because they don't have the backing. Get this record at your own risk...
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