II
Billy Talent delivers a rock-intensive and at times eclectic disc that highlights the group's inability to write songs that have depth or elements of surprise. True, "In The Fall" has a hook that's as catchy as a soccer anthem and the anti-scenester rant "The Red Flag" proves excitingly attitudinal and carries with it a spot on Clash-meets-Green Day vibe; "Falling Leaves" and "Perfect World" demonstrate the unit's knack for crafting ear-perking opening riffs. But each of those tunes––and virtually all those found onII(save the closing "Burn The Evidence")––run out of gas by the end of the first chorus which is consistently placed as close to the front of the track as possible. All that adds up to a highly infectious but equally formulaic record that could have been recorded by a thousand other punk-influenced bands.––Jedd Beaudoin