Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys
Colour suits My Chemical Romance on Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys. The guitars are bright, electronic sounds have a larger role, and Gerard Way often sings with a cleaner, more open tone. The band's taste for drama remains obvious. They have simply placed it inside a faster, more playful world.
The radio announcements establish that world, but the songs do not depend on understanding every part of the science-fiction story. Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na) makes its point through a brisk guitar attack and a chant that is almost absurdly persistent. The repetition is both its strength and its limit: the song creates excitement quickly, then keeps pressing the same button.
Bulletproof Heart offers more space around its melody, and Planetary (GO!) uses electronics and a firm dance rhythm to give the album another kind of physical energy. The band sound comfortable treating pop immediacy as part of their identity. They do not have to smuggle the hooks into a heavier song to justify them.
The softer side is effective too. Summertime has a broad, inviting melody and a sense of movement that suits its promise of escape. S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W is more hazy, with Way allowing the arrangement's colour to carry some of the feeling. These tracks give the album an emotional scale beyond rebellion and noisy confidence.
The surrounding concept can still become a distraction. A few of the interludes interrupt a run that already communicates its mood clearly, and some choruses repeat their invitation more often than necessary. The record's confidence is appealing, but it sometimes substitutes a strong surface for a developing idea.
Vampire Money makes an excellent final burst, with a loose introduction and a quick, enthusiastic rock performance. It brings the elaborate setting back to the pleasure of a band playing together. Danger Days is an uneven adventure, but its best songs make reinvention sound like an opportunity rather than a duty.
