Black & White (EP)

Heartless Vendetta

Independent release, 2008

http://www.heartlessvendetta.com/

REVIEW BY: Luke Adams

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 06/19/2008

It may be somewhat hypocritical of me to write a fairly unoriginal review chastising a band for releasing something trite themselves.  But Black & White, the latest EP from Melbourne’s self-proclaimed “rockers” Heartless Vendetta, has left me feeling so uninspired that I see no other choice.

This alt-rock four-piece from Melbourne claim that they will “stop at nothing to bring their mix of melodic rock to the foreground of every music scene in the world…” but if they keep releasing uninspiring tripe like this then surely SOMETHING will be able to stop them…!

Listing influences including Bedlight For Blue Eyes, Famous By Association, Anberlin, Cartel, After The Fall, Kiss and Metallica, this Melbourne-based band formed in 2005 and have somehow managed in the past to score support spots alongside the likes of Grinspoon and The Screaming Jets. my_heart_sings_the_harmony_web_ad_alt_250

Black & White starts off rather unspectacularly with “My Secret Weapona powerless track with content already beaten to death by other groups. The relative deficit of lyrics in this stale, lacklustre song is concealed and replaced with an ever-so-lifeless “yeah” -- which actually proves a welcome break from the other monotonous lyrics. Another break from the lyrics is provided in the form of a phoned-in guitar solo from resident guitarist “X-JuN” that had this reviewer convinced that he was listening to theme songs from over-rated 90s US television (think Beverly Hills 90210 vs. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers).

Angel, the third song featured on this four-song EP, comes as close to being memorable as anything else on Black & White, but still unfortunately misses the mark. There are shades of Hanson in this love-sick song and believe me that is in no way a compliment. The title figure in Angel would probably pass on bedding the writer just for including her in such an average, uneventful, dull song. Ironic, really.

Completing Black & White in an awkward, unmemorable fashion are “The Truth” and “Still Standing,” two nasalesque offerings that fail to extend beyond clichéd metaphors that have been used many times before.

Having said all that, it’s an unfortunate fact that the major labels are always the first to spend far too much money on worthless “alternative rock” bands that astonishingly wind up selling masses of albums to the naive, susceptible mainstream music-buying public, so there may be hope for Heartless Vendetta yet.

Rating: D-

User Rating: Not Yet Rated


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