Billy Talent--Billy Talent II

Before heading off on the summer-long Warped Tour, Toronto-based Billy Talent offered up their sophomore release, easily named Billy Talent II. Blending post-punk, pop, emo, and hardcore, Billy Talent may not achieve their uniqueness in a crowd of similar sounding bands like Sum 41 and The Offspring, but they do establish their well-earned place among them.

Billy Talent II fits in well with their Warped Tour peers, angst-ridden and bittersweet lyrics and themes are sung in a choppy, stop-and-go fashion over alternating somber and hardcore instrumentals. Songs are intense, like "Devil In A Midnight Mass" that kicks off with a dizzyingly fast guitar intro, breaking away to the fast, choppy lyrics sung on the edge of screaming. Billy Talent tends to overuse the power-filled screaming, yet this works to their advantage when they pull everything away for simple whispers before launching yet again into emotion-filled hardcore melodies.

Many songs do sound the same however, and follow a cookie-cutter format. Verses are softer more delicate, in comparison to the heavy-duty choruses, giving a fractured feeling. At times it’s difficult to remember if you’re listening to the same song from five minutes ago as well. Songs like "Worker Bees" and "In A Perfect World" save the album, providing ear-tantalizing melodies and screwing with their cookie-cutter song design.

Billy Talent effectively straddles the line between punk and pop, offering just enough in each category. Billy Talent II is a powerful album with some short-comings, but if the Toronto quartet keeps releasing material like this they’ll soon become a big name.