Reviewed by Oscar Hyde

"I am your fire and brimstone!" frontman Johnny Collier bellows on the album's ferocious opener, "The Older I Get, The Better I Was". Then comes the cocky chorus: "We're here to shake things up/We're here to make things interesting!" It's a bold boast; would that the album lived up to it. Not that this second release from the Minnesota-based hard rockers is BAD: the riffs at their best (the opening track, "Red 7") are superbly sludgy. But when Collier turns down his full-blooded roar the music turns frightfully anaemic ("Crash And Burn") - it's almost seems like a different band at play. The songs themselves cover the same pseudo-edgy themes as practically every other Christian hard music band; see "I'll Make You Famous" and its allegedly brave expose of mainstream mediocrity and monotony, quite a break from the album's near-monotonic relationship angst. Again, 'Lost Weekend' is not without merit but is in truth a hodgepodge - sludgy Southern hard rock, Sum 41 B-sides and inoffensive radio-friendly fare ("Cheap Affairs", actually not a bad song, but woefully out of place). There's even a cover of No Doubt's classic "Don't Speak", a playful choice, but certainly not helping the band gain any sort of focus. If Write This Down pick a genre instead of scattering their skills, they may have a chance at standing out; for now, though, they're butter spread over too much bread.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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