Dear Superstar
Damn Religion
Blast Records

Where to start with this one? Ok, we’ll go for the beginning, which is one of the few high points on this album. Damned Religion is the latest offering from Manchester outfit Dear Superstar, and kicks off pretty well with the title track. A solid, radio friendly track, that isn’t gonna change the world, but it’s ballsy and catchy enough to grab some interest. And then the next track, ‘Change Yesterday’ kicks in. But you could be forgiven for not noticing the difference since the latter sounds like a lazy rehash of the former. A band can be forgiven for developing a signature sound, but this is just a bit disappointing really.

The album then takes a weird turn into ‘Bullet For my Valentine’ covers-band territory. In their biography Dear Superstar are quick to drop names, who they’ve worked with, played with and who’s recorded on this album. The line should be drawn there, but the songs are just all too familiar. The snarl of a vocal we’ve come to know Matt Tuck for; check. Pinch and wail guitar screeching; check, over-layered vocal choruses; check. Yeah, the songs aren’t bad; they’re just no different from anything else out there and not quite good enough to get away with it. ‘Last Rites’ may as well have been written by Bullet themselves, which is a shame because as much as one would will this album to kick a bit more ass, it doesn’t quite happen.

Good points include the guitar work from Stevie D of Buckcherry fame on ‘Our City Sleeps’, which injects some much-needed fire, and the band’s ability to write a radio friendly tune. The problem lies where a band settles for being radio-friendly rock, where there’s a heap of other identical bands saturating the hell out of the sound. Not awful, just a little same-old.

Release Date : 6th February 2012

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Review by Graham Finney