'Battlelines' presents Bella Novela as a band who make all the right noises to fit into the contemporary rock scene. Their differentiating feature is that they not only boast a female singer who plays keyboards, but a female drummer too. The trouble with the contemporary rock scene - as just a few minutes watching Kerrang! TV or whatever will evidence - is that it's all about haircuts and manufactured angst. It's tame, tuneful. The only way the kids are going to piss off their parents with these bands is because they're so weak. Parents around the country are burying their faces in their hands, shaking their heads and saying 'this is so lame. Where's the balls? Here, kid, listen to some proper rock music'. Tattoos and piercings aren't anti-establishment or a mark of individuality any more. Damn it, where's the danger?
The other trouble with the contemporary rock scene is that if you don’t fit the look, you haven’t a hope. And Long Beach trio Bella Novela just don't conform, image-wise. It's a marketing nightmare, surely!
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The guitars on 'Truth of the Matter' and the title track are driving, and on 'Cliche' chug along quite satisfyingly, while 'Sartana' features an urgent galloping rhythm that locks an energetic groove, but there really isn't anything that isn't completely commonplace, bog-standard Kerrang! fodder on 'Battlelines.' Jackie Ojeda's vocals are ok, and she certainly has some power there (so much so that there are points it may help to tone it down as she belts the lyric out with unbridled gusto). But the 'Guitar Hero' fretwork can get a bit much after a while, and besides, when all is said and done, we really don't need another Paramore. Even if they are brave enough to shun the hair straighteners and clone rock attire.
Bella Novela On MySpace
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