Let’s face it, the My American Heart EP was a load of absolute guff – full of cliched, whiny vocals and sugary sweet guitar riffs that didn’t do anything for me. Bearing that in mind – and the fact I’m becoming intolerant to crap CDs and crap bands – I had absolutely no expectations for this whatsoever. So it was a welcome surprise that ‘The Meaning In Makeup’ isn’t actually that bad. Infact, it’s better than I could ever have thought it would be. Moving away from the sappy shite they peddled before, the band have added an edge that moves them into Gatsbys American Dream/Armor For Sleep territory – and they sound better for it.
At 13 songs, it could be argued this is still on the long side. There are a couple of tracks that could easily have been left on the cutting room floor, but this is a massive all round improvement. ‘The Process’ is a real tune, while ‘Takeover’ has a stomping guitar riff and plenty of attitude. To be honest, the amount of growing up and maturity this band have managed to do in around 18 months deserves the plaudits. Forget the preconceptions, forget what you heard on the ghastly EP – this is well worth checking out and goes to show that listening to your many critics can sometimes be the best thing for any young band.
www.myamericanheartrock.com
Warcon
Paul