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 | LostprophetsStart Something2004 Columbia 
 Review by: Mr_Ian See others by this writer Only registered users can post comments 
 
Published on May 18th 2004 Lostprophets' debut album The Fake Sound of Progress was a huge seller in the UK and did pretty well for itself abroad too. Pretty impressive for what was little more than a glorified demo which the band insist was only put out so they had something to sell when they played shows. This, their sophomore release (as the Americans would say) is the 'real' Lostprophets debut. In interviews prior to the album being released various band members had been quoted as saying how no-one else would be able to touch this album for the rest of the year. The 'Prophets weren't quietly confident – they were telling anyone who would listen just how fucking good their album was. Is it as good as they say? Hmmmm…. We open with 'We still kill the old way' which has a pretty killer riff that segues into something from a spaghetti western if it were shot by John Woo. This song contains the line "Even through your doubts we will still be here" which appears to be aimed at the band's detractors who label them as pretty boy posers. Incidentally, the Lostprophets have since got into a war of words with British boy band Busted (for those of you unaware of this particular phenomenon Busted are three teens dressed like Blink 182 who sing songs they didn't write about shagging their teacher while holding guitars they don't actually play…and they are fucking HUGE in the UK.) Anyways, the song is a good opener but seems to lose it's way at the chorus, with the band opting for a softer, anthemic chorus rather than the screamy shouty one it deserves. It does pick up at the end though. A good song, but not a brilliant one. Perhaps they would have been better served by the fifth track on the album, which was it's lead single – Burn Burn. With an absolutely killer riff and an awesome chorus this would have been the perfect mission statement for the CD. OK, so a teeny bit of the song rips off Adamski's 'Killer' but that part isn't the main hook and the rest of the song doesn't resemble that track at all. The other single, which was a huge hit in the UK, 'Last Train Home' is one of the best tracks the 'Prophets have ever recorded and it gets better with every listen. There are so many little hooks in the song that once it creeps into your head it just won't let go. So, lyrically it might not be a work of genius – but, really, who gives a toss? The 'Prophets are hear to move you with the might of the tunes, not the clever nuances of their lyrics. Tracks like 'I don't know' 'Hello again' and 'last summer' are all good with catchy choruses, screaming interludes and all kinds of hooks. On first listen they don't seem to stand out from the pack, but that's because some of the other tracks are so jaw droppingly good that you skip past these ones and that really does them a disservice. I've had the album for a couple of months now and I'm only just getting into these tracks. Penultimate song 'We are Godzilla, you are Japan' unfortunately lives up to it's awesome title – but only just. It's another riff based track that many bands would kill for but in such lofty company (like the title track, which is ass-kickingly heavy) it does not stick in the brain as it should. For me the best track on the album is 'Goodbye tonight' which contains some awesome harmonies between singer Ian and DJ/ Keyboard player/ Screamer Jamie (it should be said that the turntable stuff does not feature much on the CD, except during the segues between songs with some breakbeats thrown in too). The song really highlights the overall 'theme' of the album – that of trying harder to make life better. The title of the record 'Start Something' wants people to go out and make a difference, to live their dreams – which is what every song on the album is about. In a way, this is almost a concept album…but don't let that put you off. Closer 'Sway' is the one thing that stops this album from achieving true greatness, as it is a nice slow song, but doesn't go anywhere interesting, which is a real shame. So, is it worth the hype? Yes, definitely. For those of you who aren't afraid of admitting they like music with a tune you can sing along to this is a godsend. Lostprophets are a hardcore band in the way the Movielife were are a hardcore band – they came from that scene but ultimately knew that screaming and shouting your point was all well and good, but it's kinda nice if people want to actually listen to your music rather than just batter the hell out of someone standing next to them in a pit. Oh, and after reading the review for the new Modest Mouse record I have to say that this album is absolutely genius in a car. The front cover depicts an open highway and this seems to be the best place to listen to it. Incidentally, the guy on the front cover is, according to legend, Justin Timberlake whose 'Cry me a River' Lostprophets cover (rather fantastically I feel) on the b-side of 'Last train Home.' Anyway, this album really is worth buying. It won't change your life by any means but goddamn it might make it a wee bit more fun.
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Label these guys all you want, but they're good. Go to one of their shows and see if their fucking homo's then. Don't shit on someone just cause it's a bit different than what's in your little hole. n before u all say why was i lucking for it i happened to find it when i couldnt spell propaghandi so just put prop n what the fuck is this album doing on this site i thought it was for punk no wait its worse than that this is about as good to listen to as putting a spoon in your ear I actually just got to this through something new you posted. Anyways, it's a great album. It's catchy, almost too much so, but it's a really solid album. Good review. If you're 15 and a girl you'll probably love this. Unfortunatly when you get older I'll hope you look back at this album and realise how crappy this band really is. This is some pretty sappy/corny/sissy shit. Great album, good rythems, VERY catchy tunes, great potential I think this Album from lostprophets is the better album. And i'm also going to add that it is very popular in FL. "This band is a joke... right when they came out they where right on MTV...now tell me thats not the most stupidest thing to do...." It's obvious - anyone who thinks using homophobic insults is a means to trash an album is obviously too stupid to form their own opinions, and probably just go along with the crowd. The problem is, there are far too many cretins like that on this site. Ah well. How is your opinion any more valid? Who gives a fuck. I call it like I see it. I wasn't saying that they don't suck (although I don't hate them, this album is far from being amazing, or in fact unique in any way), I just think it's ridiculous that the retards here who think calling a band gay, or saying that they "suck dick" think their opinions are valid. That's all. PS. Doc Martin's suck dick along with the Lostprophets. "Ha. This is hilarious. As soon as you miserable little poseur "punk rawk" trash-teens step off your holier than thou pedestols and actually start thinking for yourselves rather than complaining about how they're "sellouts" (OMFG!they are teh s3llouts?I am sooo cool) or not punk, then give us your opinion. Until then, would you all just kindly shut the fuck up and go back to spit-shining John Lydon's Doc Martins for him, he's getting quite impatient." Ha. This is hilarious. As soon as you miserable little poseur "punk rawk" trash-teens step off your holier than thou pedestols and actually start thinking for yourselves rather than complaining about how they're "sellouts" (OMFG!they are teh s3llouts?I am sooo cool) or not punk, then give us your opinion. Until then, would you all just kindly shut the fuck up and go back to spit-shining John Lydon's Doc Martins for him, he's getting quite impatient. "Crappy unoriginal garbage. Nothing to listen or see here, move along. These guys fucking suck." I thought this band might be alright and worth listening to when they released Shinobi vs dragon ninja but they suck now. REAL hard. This is terrible music that should be avoided. heh, this album is inconsistent as hell. the only good songs are 'burn burn' and 'last train home.' they left off the best song too .. the 'theme from top gun 2' song that was on the burn burn uk cd single. that was the shit. fuck this cd though. They totally ripped off the name of the Life's Halt!/What Happens Next? split LP. HA! oh dude, that's great! Man, oh man that's funny!...wait...this is a joke right? ...what? no? and what's that you say? Avril Levigne's new album is the next review you're doing? Man, I'd hate to say this and me as a person would be the last person to label but man...this is DISGUSTING, what the fuck is this doing on here? THIS ISN'T PUNK! in ten years, punk will be a rotating door where bands like fucking incubus and hoobastank will be reviewed on here huh? coming soon to a hot topic near you! saying these guys are numetal is stupid, i'm not saying you have to like them, but if these guysare numetal then so is finch. its not punk but its not numetal, this is waaay better than korn or disturbed and sounds nothing like those bands. the singer acttually has a good voice and not that jesus creed nickleback voice of numetal. calling this screamo would be more accurate although even that isnt what they sound like. Although I'm not the biggest fan of the album, I do want to make it clear that just because a band makes it to MTV doesn't mean they've sold out. It means that MTV is doing it's best (although not always succeeding) to recognize decent bands and putting them on TV. Just clarifying... "...but it's kinda nice if people want to actually listen to your music rather than just batter the hell out of someone standing next to them in a pit." to be punk now, all you need is a snazzy haircut and some tight diesel's, and these dudes rock that shit Is this really supposed to be fall under some category of punk? I thought it was that poppy nu-metal shit that's ruining the airwaves. whats next...? A review of the latest disturbed album? or is it Korn? "This is what finch and hoobastank would sound like if they were 100x better. cross those two bands , multiply their talent and songwriting by 100 and you've got lostprophets." i jerk off to the girls in the video for Last Train Home cause they are hot! album of the year so far IMO and no i'm not joking. This is what finch and hoobastank would sound like if they were 100x better. cross those two bands , multiply their talent and songwriting by 100 and you've got lostprophets. Those busted fags look more like midtown than blink In from England and I'm bored of this band - I dunno if they're trying to be nu-metal, pop-punk or emo but whatever it is it's fucking shite If these guys aren't sellouts, may large brown rodents escape my butt hole. The Used called, they want their crappy sound back. Crappy unoriginal garbage. Nothing to listen or see here, move along. These guys fucking suck. (_(_)[jjjj]D~ ~~ > (_(_)==[jjjj]===lD~ ~~ Someone once told me Busted were superior to The Beatles. I beat them until they fell into a comatose state. The first album was great, this album is ok. Musically I have no problem with them, but they do definitely look like they've been styled to try to appeal to every demographic of the 'punk' scene. Last train home is a solid track yo. great album, great band, great live band. (_(_)===[jjjj]==lD ~ ~ ~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~ These guys suck live too. They played UCF with Hoobastank and Ima Robot(great live band if you want to have fun at a show, btw) and all the high school kiddies came out for this band. It's just not really all that good. I've heard the whole cd and its just about as overproduced and generic as you can get. Try something new bands. busted write their own songs actually. "Burn, Burn" is really good. "For those of you who aren't afraid of admitting they like music with a tune you can sing along to this is a godsend." I'll admit it. I bought their first album when I heard Shinobi on Mtv2. I actually liked the Fake Sound of Progress. It wasn't great, but it wasn't shit, either. People like this? This isn't exactly good, or punk rock at all, but I'd take it over the current crop of shitty emo pop punk. whatever happened to good music? Yeah the video says it all. No, not even the enire video. Just their haircuts. The singer's fashion mullet the guitar player's "emover" are just classic. All picture perfect and dyed just right and not messed up even though they're playing a very intense set to a group of kids...I mean...it's not staged or anything... And we sayyyyyyyyyyyyyyy... This band is a joke... right when they came out they where right on MTV...now tell me thats not the most stupidest thing to do.... all the bashing? This band is ten-fold better then New Found Glory and you guys just say "major label shit". How about all you close minded punk rock kids actually listen to the album. Its not great, but its not shitty. Yeah, this review is pretty trashy too. We don't need all this background information. You're reviewing one piece of material by this band, you don't need to prove that you know more about the band than us. "Lostprophets are a hardcore band in the way the Movielife were are a hardcore band " good? ha. ha. ha. Okay, wow. This band sucks. And this band sucks. And wow, do they suck so terribly bad. I really dont like this band. Has this reviewer listened to their older stuff? They sound nothing like this. I think them, along with FFAF, have realised there's a lot of dollar to be made exploiting the US faux-hardcore SoCal style music, and marketing it to the kids here who don't know about anything non major-label as new music. typically, all the UK press are hailing them and FFAF as 'saviours of rock' and being innovative. Fuck last train home. Seriously, I hope all the band members choked after writing that piece of shit. Next time some fat chick with a carebear backpack sings that, I'm taking hostages seriously what the fuck is this band doing on punknews? I haven't heard this album, and maybe I'm pre-judging, but the song on the radio is terrible, and if it's any indication... I can't believe this was even reviewed here... I've only heard the single but it has that "Huge compressed, major label sound" and I don't really like that. One of my friends probably has this though so maybe I'll check it out. "but, really, who gives a toss?" No. Awful. I tried to be nice, but gah, this album fucking sucked, with the possible exception of two songs. I hate to use the s-word, but these guys sold out. Big time. The fact that they even needed to write a song like 'Burn Burn' makes it obvious. |
