The Bangkok Five - We Love What Kills Us

Genre rock Publisher Long Live Crime Records External Links The Bangkok Five Website

If Matt Johnson from The The were to front the current version of Against Me! minus the politics, the result would be something akin to The Bangkok Five. It's not a bad thing, but neither is it a particularly inventive one. What The Bangkok Five are doing has been done before, but that doesn't mean they aren't accomplished at their craft. If you're familiar with Spacehog's better work- yes, there was some, and it was called The Chinese Album- then you'll be happy with the contents of the Five's We Love What Kills Us. It's a well-paced, dare I say uplifting, collection of tunes that are healthily plump with pop sensibility while retaining a honed edge.

Treading well the ever-thinning line between hard rock and pop-punk, tB5 have the potential to stand out from the crowd on We Love What Kills Us - their debut EP on Long Live Crime Records by virtue of their clean, polished sound. Their straight-ahead accessible rock is complimented by dense production that accentuates most of the quintet's contributions with just enough flash and bombast; the structure of the songs and interplay of the instruments are allowed room to shine even while a nonstop barrage of soulful boogie-rock is maintained. The perpetually driving rhythm section lays a strong groundwork for chugging rhythm guitars just this side of sleazy and vocals that, not unkindly, recall the warmly hollow tone of one Ian Astbury.

There's something missing here, though. The lead guitar, while played with energy, is missing a certain verve; a certain gusto. Behind every successful frontman is a guitarist who completes the pair of codependent, self-immolating leadmen: Mick and Keith, Steven and Joe, Jim and Robbie. It creates a destructive symbiosis that creates havoc evident in the music, and in the case of the Bangkok Five, is conspicuously absent. The strong and charismatic singer is present, but the lead guitar, his supposed partner in crime, isn't stepping up to fulfill his role. Part of it is the mix; the lead guitar is a little lower than it probably should be. It could have played a more commanding role in the songs if it had been produced as such. However, you can't bring to the forefront something that's just not there to begin with, and that seems to be most of the problem here. The riffs are muted and fearful, and the solos, where present, belie someone who's unsure of themselves. What's the matter, dude? You sound like you're not convinced of your abilities, which do seem to be there but in limited quantities. You're holding back, and it's not doing the band any favors. The rhythm section's strong, the lead singer's fantastically pompous, and now you need to man up and make yourself HEARD. A singer without some unselfconsciously bombastic axework behind him is nothing, and it leads a band straight into the bargain bin.

All told, We Love What Kills Us isn't a bad album. It's just one that is much less than the sum of its parts. These guys are capable of better.