If ‘I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love’ was one of those cult indie classics, then ‘Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge’ is one of those heavyweight Hollywood blockbusters starring Will Smith or Bruce Willis. My Chemical Romance (if you’d have said ‘who?’ a year ago I wouldn’t have blamed you) have shot to prominence in a very short space of time. The band’s first record was released on Eyeball Records, but it did so well that Reprise came knocking – and the resulting record has so much spit and polish that it’s hardly surprising MCR are about to blow up real big.
But can all the production in the world make a great album? No – you still need a clutch of classic songs, so it’s a good job ‘Three Cheers…’ is crammed full of them. From the opening ‘Helena’ to the penultimate ‘Cemetery Drive’, this is a classic, slick rock record. It’s going to get lumped carelessly in the post-hardcore bracket, but MCR have come back with a record every bit as good, if not better, than their last album. There are choruses, clever lyrics, powerful guitar riffs and Gerard’s distinctive vocals. In short, this record has everything you need to be successful.
As I mentioned before, ‘Helena’ is a very strong start; it has a huge melodic chorus and Gerard’s vocals are at their distinctive best. It’s a trait that continues throughout, especially through the strong first half of the album. ‘Give ‘Em Hell, Kid’ and ‘You Know What They Do To Guys Like Us In Prison’ are very strong tracks, far more up-tempo than the opener yet still very impressive. First single ‘I’m Not Okay (I Promise)’ is far poppier than a lot of the last record, but is still fucking ace. And so I could go on – while a couple of the latter tracks are solid yet unspectacular, for the most part this is a fantastic album.
‘Three Cheers’ isn’t due out for a few months officially, but this is well worth the import price tag. Reprise don’t send us promos (wink, wink, nudge, nudge), so if I can pay £13 and rate a CD, that should be a high enough recommendation for anyone.
www.mychemicalromance.com
Reprise Records
Paul