Lostprophets
Liberation Transmission
(Sony BMG)
It must be galling for any self-respecting male rock fan to discover a favourite band have customised their sound for teenage girls. Yet, anyone who has followed the Lostprophets since their moody debut, The Fake Sound of Progress, will probably have resigned themselves to the fact the Welsh five-piece were always headed towards pop-metal domination.
Their third effort looks likely to complete the transformation. The street-punk look of old has given way to leather, floppy fringes and tinted hair, and the sound is now based around catchy, shouty choruses.
Full of potential hits, Liberation Transmission seems all the more potent now that Green Day are dormant. You can imagine the previously locked doors of teenagers' bedrooms swinging open to the sugary refrain of Rooftops (A Liberation Message), proving that parents are, like, so wrong. 'Standing on the rooftops,' exhorts singer Ian Watkins. 'Everybody scream your heart out!'
