The return of My Chemical Romance means many-a-different-thing depending on when you grew up, and also whether you abhorred, ignored or got sucked into the vortex the scene they were a key part of in the early 00s.
There’s no denying that the band have made a bit of a habit of the concept album, and ‘Danger Days…’ is penned as such, but it’s not really as out there as the imagery suggests.
It’s an album that takes a few attempts to really make sense: ‘Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na)’ is a hit and definitely deserved of lead single, but the rest takes a bit of imagination to click properly.
There’s plenty of borrowing and nods to influences across the record, and there’s certainly a few moments where ‘Danger Days…’ shouldn’t make sense (in particular the slick pop-rock ballad ‘The Only Hope For Me Is You’ and J-Rock banger ‘Party Poison’ are separated only by a bit of narrative), but as a whole record it’s certainly as impressive as it is ambitious. It’s great to see a band that have got a strong back catalogue and militant following give things a shake up with a new record now again, even if it’s within the restraints of a four (ish) chord formula.
‘Danger Days…’ is miles away from perfect, bound to piss off a few long term fans, doused in studio trickery, and doesn’t have the constant killer moments that can be attributed to the band’s early career, but for the mess it should have been there’s a treasure trove of great ideas to be found.