Album Review: Picture Me Broken - Wide Awake

As hard as it is to become a relevant band in our day and age, there is little question that it is even harder when your band members are still in their teens. My bet, it's pushing it if you're a screamo-band with Linkin Park/Evanescence/Paramore ambitions. Yet this is Californian outfit Picture Me Broken's plan, and they are lucky enough to have had a good production team behind them at such a young age.

Their debut album 'Wide Awake' contains a few full-on rock songs requiring acceptable musicianship ('Dearest (I'm So Sorry)' and 'Dead Serious'), a few ballads ('Forevermore' and the cringe-inducing 'If I Never Wake Again') and a lot of filler tracks. A lot of these songs sound heavily influenced, by some of the big radio-metal bands of the early 00s. Whilst the band in general still need a bit of time and experience to mature.

'Skin And Bones', a more versatile and complete song, shows signs of hope to come with the first authentically enjoyable song of the album, and avoids crashing into to many gimmicks. Hopefully this is the kind of offering they'll be ready to fit into their career path.

2/5

'Wide Awake' by Picture Me Broken is available now on Megaforce Records.

Picture Me Broken on MySpace and Twitter

James Berclaz-Lewis