Gerard Way - Hesitant Alien: The verdict is in, and…well. I had good expectations of this album because I’ve been a pretty hardcore My Chemical Romance fan, and I like Gerard. I was really upset about their break-up and figured this was the closest we would get to new MCR, though that it wouldn’t live up to their albums. And, well…never thought I’d say this, but…if MCR breaking up gave us this album…I can actually accept the break-up. The album is really, really, really freaking good. Like, I actually like it a lot more than “Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge” and “Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys”. “The Black Parade” is still one of my all-time favourites, but I actually enjoyed this more than most of MCR’s work. That’s a beautiful thing. Wikipedia classifies the album as “alternative rock, brit-pop & post-punk”, and post-punk is the most applicable of the three. It’s borderline noise-rock or noise-pop and I love it. There’s so much going on, so many little flourishes and screeches, emotion and pure noise, layers and distortion and just overpowering sound. “The Bureau” was a good start, and the ending of “Millions” deserves a song of its own, but “Juarez” is where it gets really cranked up to 11.
Lyrically this is all less bleak than MCR’s work often is, but it’s just as dark, if not darker. “Get the Gang Together”, for example, deals with old friends dying, fading away, leading new lives (one undergoing a gender transition, even) and things like that. Others deal with love, life, etc. There’s hints of MCR throughout, but overall this is very, very much Gerard Way. If you’re listening just for more MCR, I probably wouldn’t bother too much. That said, it does continue the My Chemical Romance tradition of ending albums on an optimistic note, with an anthem worthy of “Famous Last Words” or “Vampire Money”. Personally I would have ended with “Millions”, because that finish would have left a wonderful taste in my mouth, but…ah well. Anyway, my point is this album is absolutely wonderful and actually (IMO) better than most of what My Chemical Romance did. And that’s saying something, because I love them to death. My point is, Gerard’s got a hell of a career ahead of him, and I can’t imagine a better start than this. Count me in.