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Mötley Crüe's Nikki Sixx is unstoppable at the moment. He's a successful author, photographer and radio DJ in addition to being the bassist in two popular bands. Sixx: A.M., Nikki’s side project, had a very successful 2007 debut album, The Heroin Diaries, which was based upon Sixx’s autobiography. Their second full-length album, This Is Gonna Hurt, released through Nikki’s own Eleven Seven Music, is 11 tracks of melodious, emotional and commercial pop rock songs. It’s also the title of Sixx's new book, which is part photo, part journal. The music within This Is Gonna Hurt is a cross pollination of melody and heavy guitars. Returning band members DJ Ashba (guitar, backing vocals) and James Michael (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards) contribute some good songwriting abilities. But the highlight is Michael’s vocal performance. He can belt out some dramatic and robust vocals. This Is Gonna Hurt is pretty similar to The Heroin Diaries in that the tunes are very melodic and loaded with tons of layered vocal harmonies. Just don't be expecting Mötley Crüe-type arrangements. It does contain some of the sleazy rock elements of Crüe, but it doesn’t have those trademark Mick Mars guitar riffs. A lot of the lyrics are sometimes cheesy in a simplistic, observational story telling way, but they are very catchy none the less. CD opener "This Is Gonna Hurt" fades into a sleazy groove/techno/industrial rhythm with a melodic guitar lead. Its pop-sounding verse is pretty catchy and radio friendly. The dirty, angular riffs of "Lies Of The Beautiful People," the sugar coated chorus of "Live Forever," the acoustic guitar/piano ballad “Smile” and the orchestral arrangements of CD closer “Skin” all create an emotional but pleasurable melodic listening experience. A fine sophomore effort for fans of commercial and melodic pop rock. | ||||||||||||||||||
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