Album Review: Start the Party by The Blackout

‘Always the bridesmaid, never the bride’ would be an appropriate summation of The Blackout’s career since they formed back in 2003. The Welsh sextet from Merthyr Tydfil have supported Lostprophets, Paramore, Limb Bizkit, My Chemical Romance, Blink-182 and many more over the years, yet they seem no nearer to becoming legitimate headliners themselves. Then again, the band have never shown a great deal of ambition in their previous three releases, producing songs that are rather formulaic.

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‘Start The Party’ is the fourth album from Merthyr Tydfil sextet The Blackout, and has been pitched by the group as an antidote to all of the ‘negativity’ that music portrays nowadays. Unfortunately, proceedings open with the title-track and lead single which has plenty of energy, but when they spell out the letters ‘P.A.R.T.Y’ it brings back unwelcome memories of a certain Avril Lavigne.One of the most surprising tracks here is the reflective ‘You’, a welcome oasis in a desert of fury and sonic energy. It’s a delicate ballad of real maturity that echoes their transatlantic musical peers Brand New and shows they can equally do subtle and heartfelt.

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