Escape The Fate Albums

[Yazmín Bohon]

Ata reported 3.5 million units, these aggregate bootleg sales may even outstrip those of their studio albums, which is why so much importance is being placed on Backspacer, their debut for Universal. And, to give the band its due, it's more spirited and less mawkish than their earlier releases: "Gonna See My Friend" leaps out of the traps with vigour, a surprisingly animated attempt to escape anomie, while, on "Amongst The Waves", Eddie Vedder celebrates escaping the ultimate fate of youthful self-pity. Elsewhere, "Supersonic" recalls the proto-punk pop of Eddie & the Hot Rods, and Johnny "Guitar" Watson, the original Gangster of Love, becomes a touchstone icon of envied sexual prowess in "Johnny Guitar". But it's a pair of matching acoustic ballads, "Just Breathe" and "The End", which are the most impressive pieces here, touching reflections on blessings counted and deathbed regrets respectively. But plenty of Backspacer sounds worryingly similar to Guns N'Roses: heavy plodding with attitude.

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