You reviewer's not usually best pleased when he comes into contact with anything emitting the merest hint of 'Emo'. Usually, it has an unpleasant odour of MTV and bratty high school kids whining because their parents won't lend 'em the 4x4 to cruise the bars of an evening: not to mention automatically bringing the vile likes of Jimmy Eat World, Blink 182 and Less Than Jake to mind. Distasteful, to say the least.
Leicester's MY AWESOME COMPILATION, though, are a slightly superior UK slant on the despicable genre. Their song "As Always" is by some way the high point of this split single with Chicago's Fall Out Boy. Spewing into life via a cold shower of guitars, it may be recognisably 'Emo' at its' core, but happily displays a melodic edge of its' own that not only prevents your reviewer from wanting to twat them on sight, but actually even makes him feel moderately well-disposed to them. Believe me, that's quite an achievement in itself.
Sadly, this curious feeling of well-being evaporates immediately on contact with Fall Out Boy's mediocre'n'generic thrash through "Grand Theft Auto/ Where Is Your Boy?" - which I assume - deals with the, ahem, fallout from the 'boy' borrowing the aforementioned 4x4. There again, I doubt I'll bother listening to the song again to find out anyway, so you can mail me with the answers if you wish. Or on second thoughts, don't bother.
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Still, that your reviewer has actually sat through a record that's from within the confines of the Emo genre is a result in itself. Fall Out Boy do nothing to destroy this writer's opinion that the only American band of this type worth any salt are All-American Rejects, but My Awesome Compilation are at least a welcome homegrown rearguard action. Maybe not reason enough to run up the flags exactly, but at least its' a start.
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