Album Review: The Belated - Belief In Process

The Belated are a band who wear their influences on their sleeve. Unfortunately, their inspiration varies from track to track on 'Belief in Process' and, as a result, we’re left with a piece of disjointed drivel. Initially coming over like the bastard son of Muse and Midtown, The Belated’s debut bursts open with the genuinely epic, if not contrived, ‘Intelligent Redesign’. However, after dabbling in pop-punk and power ballads, the band make a bizarre transition into ska on ‘How Did You Know’. This complete lack of vision makes 'Belief in Process' a difficult listen, which is a shame because The Belated have some decent ideas.

These ideas are almost entirely communicated through the occasionally thrilling musicianship; the bass lines are strong throughout and the guitar work on ‘Lazy Fascination’ is undeniably impressive. Sadly, these ideas never flourish into actual songs, remaining merely nice interludes between less exciting moments. This only goes to highlight the fact that The Belated need a producer, as not only are they in dire need of focus, but their sound is almost lost in translation through its flat production, tempering their most exciting moments. It’s these mitigating factors which refuse to let the band shine as bright as they rightly should and makes the album even more of a struggle to enjoy.

However, those who do remain with them until the end are in for a little treat as the album is brought to a climatic close with their most consistent track, ‘Daily Rose’. Whilst previous songs such ‘Someone Somehow’ never really get to the point, ‘Daily Rose’ revolves around its strongest hook and is all the better for it. If only the rest of the album was as competently written. Instead, 'Belief In Process' sounds like the birth of a new band who have yet to hone a sound.

2/5

'Belief In Process' by The Belated is available now.

The Belated on MySpace

Alex Howick