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Album: Blessed By A Broken Heart – Feel The Power

January 20th, 2012 · 8 Comments

Blessed By A Broken Heart 2012 promo photo Thrash Hits

Blessed By A Broken Heart
Feel The Power
Tooth & Nail / Rude Records
30 January 2012

by Tom Doyle

For about five minutes back in the mid 2000s, Blessed By A Broken Heart were one of those bands that looked like they could’ve been absolutely massive in the UK. Shows with the then-hot-ticket Enter Shikari ensured they were in the right place at the right time, but they have struggled to convert that potential into a solid UK fanbase, concentrating harder on the US market where fans seem more willing to lap up their glam rock/mosh schtick. Their third album, FEEL THE POWER (hilariously capitalised on the promo copy we received at Thrash Hits HQ, along with ALL THE TRACK TITLES), is surely their last chance to ‘crack’ the UK. Have they got a hope? In short, no.

Blessed By A Broken Heart Feel The Power album cover artwork packshot 400px Thrash Hits

There are several reasons for this, the first by far the most glaring. On previous efforts BBABH seemed to have had at least some sense of humour about their ridiculous spandex and bandannas nonsense (see the Mr Roboto middle 8 of ‘Move Your Body‘), but on FEEL THE POWER that is all thrown out the window for a remarkably po-faced approach, which robs the whole experience of any fun that the band might once have offered. FEEL THE POWER lacks the bounce and knowing swagger which characterised their previous efforts and you get the sense that in trying to move away from being a playful, tongue-in-cheek act to more serious terrain (which their undeniable musical ability certainly does warrant) the band have actually jettisoned the main thing which once made them an appealing prospect.

The other serious problem with this record is the production, which is so ridiculously shiny that opticians advise that you don’t look directly at it. If you can find me a more painful 6 seconds of music that the opening refrain of ‘Forever’, I will happily clean your house for a week and buy you some better albums to listen to. Meanwhile, ‘I’ve Got You’ genuinely sounds like The Backstreet Boys circa 1999 – it is, in a word, dog shit. Actually, that boy band comparison is a valid one here - FEEL THE POWER is an album which is so manufactured, polished, laced with saccharine harmonies and over the top  histrionics that it would come as little surprise if we discovered that BBABH have been taking tips from Simon Cowell in their bid to get to the top.

Yet no amount of veneer and spit-shine can make up for the fact that actually, FEEL THE POWER lacks the really big choruses that you need to make this sort of thing work even as a guilty pleasure. They seem to have been replaced by guitar solos which whilst technically proficient often feel like they go on for several bars too long and will leave you wondering why such able players debase themselves by being part of a project with so little musical or artistic integrity.

Watch the video to ‘Forever’ by Blessed By A Broken Heart:

The bottom line is that if you want cock-rock piss-take fun, go and buy a Steel Panther album, and if you want hackneyed glam metal with a smattering of below par breakdowns, go and get your head examined. Teenage rock fans in the UK are much more savvy than to fall for this sort of thing, preferring the more streetwise sounds of the likes of Enter Shikari, the songwriting nous of Deaf Havana, or even the grittier slash’n'burn of Architects and Your Demise. BBABH seem destined to stay in the States where they can get away with being as sanitised and toothless as FEEL THE POWER makes them seem unless they can quickly remember to start having a big of a laugh again and stop writing songs that could easily make it onto a Jonas Brothers record.

2/6

Sounds Like: LostProphets, Nick Carter
Standout Track: SHUT UP AND ROCK!

Tags: Album · Reviews

  • DickChunk

    My house is waiting. And I have a hefty list of albums you can buy me. 

  • http://enviableworkplace.com/ Filip Matous

    Hey Tom,

    Hmm, I disagree with analysis that the band is shrinking. This album is going to get them a much, much larger fan base. This, in my opinion, is the catchiest album of 2012 thus far.What has it got that I dig?80′s glam guitar + walls of sound? Check!Van Halen type choruses? Check!Makes me feel like I do when I watch Back to the Future? Check!Does it have some rough bits? Yeah, like you I’m not huge on “I’ve got You” although I think that songs is aimed at their female fan base.But this is no guilty pleasure. It’s pleasure, man. And yeah some people will hate it, but some will love this album and consequently watch their fan count rise. I’ll certainly go see em if they show up in London.

  • #HEEL

    You’d think when a band spends almost 4 years working on a record, it will be better then their last. With this record though, that’s clearly not the case. At first I thought you guys were being a bit too harsh.. Then I listened to the record, and then this article made all the sense in the world.

  • #HEEL

    Just to add, If these guys are doing this to cater to a “larger” fan base, well then they are doing it all wrong. Musically I am impressed but the I think the fact that the lyrics are so boy boy-esque that its going to turn people off from it. These lyrics wont cater to the average fan of the band, but to 15 year old girls who think they’re cool because they listen to “Heavy Metal” music. But these newly found “fans” mean absolutely nothing, because all these people are looking for is the next flavor of the week, and then in 2 months they will totally forget about this band.

  • Atreyu

    Hey whoever wrote this sucks dick!

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=797190056 Roger Porter

    Tom just SHUT UP AND ENJOY IT!

  • Rbhockey40

    Hey Tom, you should find another job. Stop writing about music. SHUT UP AND ROCK AND FEEL THE POWER!

  • http://www.facebook.com/beansybos Benas Audinis

    Being a part of the so called UK scene that wont lap the album up i strongly disagree with you ,frankly i couldnt be happier that theyve stayed away from the whole “comedic” style of lyric as seen in steel panther , means i can actually take them seriously and not listen out for “funny lines” reffering to cocks balls , pussy or cumming on one rap star or another. I dont understand why just because of their style and the fact its heavily influenced by a past era they HAVE to make sure they dont take themselves seriously so that people dont think they are so called cliche, why should the lyricist take away from his own integrity or self respect and write things he doesnt want to ,just to please a group of people. Theyve lost non of their bounce and fun aspect , all you have to do is listen to 30 seconds of “Skate or Die” and you realise that , or to be precise any one of the songs disproves your point in that aspect , each songs still punches through with pace and rhythm matched by no other band at the moment, either way when they get to the UK theyll see that this release is nothing short of sublime and will be taken with open arms by the UK scene and i will be at their Peterborough show in May Feeling the Fucking Power along with a packed out crowd of the “UK Kids” that supposedly dont appreciate their music.