The Blackout – I Don’t Care (This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things)

Ah, emo, I’ve missed you. Only kidding. You might hide behind a lie of being “post-hardcore”, but I can spot you a mile off. The preposterous band name, the pretentious song title, the dumbness of having yet another heavy rock outfit from Wales (we already have to put up with Lostprophets, what have we done to deserve this?), it’s just not possible to take it seriously.

That said, this The Blackout song’s not all bad, it crunches along happily enough for a bunch of depressed kids, Sean Smith has the perfect voice for the band and it all seems harmless enough. It’s disposable, mass produced commercial fast-food mush. You won’t be “begging for more”, as Smith hopefully claims.

They’re hugely indebted to My Chemical Romance, but don’t let that put you off if you wear only black clothes and have a nine-inch fringe, as you’ll probably love this. Having had recent success on the UK Rock and Indie charts, this is a big chance for them to cement their future. They probably just about do enough.