damagedgoods

...if for nothing than their regular, meticulously premeditated shifts in image and appeal. They started out as a nu-metal band with not much in the way of songs but at least some kind of credibility on the *band* circuit - then, they rapidly underwent a number image and sound adjustements comprising, chronologically, skate/nu-metal (Fake Sound of Progress), AOR alt-rock (urn Burn), and most recently, anthemic emo-tinged pop/rock (Last Lrain Home, Last Summer etc).

For now, they appear to have stuck to the indesputedly saleable formula of EMO RAWK ANTHEM, but even without changing their sound, they've now sidestepped from emo fringes and converse to (from what I saw of the Rooftops video) military jackets, shoes - what appears to be a strokes-inspired indie look. It's totally manufactured and calculated, and I don't for a minute believe that there's not a metric assload of money behind them in stylists, image consultants and whatnot, but it intrigues me that after the public's relative disinterest in Burn Burn, their label would still see fit to spend money on altering their look to appeal to *another* demographic rather than simply dropping them and signing a new act that sounded less like POD and more like Thursday.

And now, the new song (unintentionally, I'm sure) reads like a bad Myspace poem. A Town Called Hypocrisy? What the fuck? It's almost as though it's a nod to the kind of kids who are currently championing the band more than anyone else. They really are a terribly average band with a knack for writing very catchy pop songs for an uncritical audience.

I don't know why I've obviously thought about it this much.

Also, I know they're not emo, and I know I'm using the term incorrectly. Whatever.

only a couple of things i'd change:

1) make it more clear that user reviews are user reviews. but have more of them.

2) show the star rating in the title so if we're just looking for a good album to check out (or a bad review for our entertainment) we can get there faster

3) more demo/unsigned/small indie label stuff

i *really like* the way comments are posted under the article. in tree format as opposed to a straight list. don't change that.