The Enemy UK

These Brit kids didn’t splash as much as expected in 2007 with their proudly working-class tales of Coventry street life, so they reached into the tackle box for some stadium bait. And while there are still a couple of Jam-like snarlers on album two, the aping of Oasis’ more bloated days sinks things quickly. “51st State” fumbles for a political message from a time before these boys were born, “Be Somebody” collapses under a barrage of clichés, and “Last Goodbye” aspires to “Wonderwall” but ends up a Bon Jovi power-ballad joke. There’s a fine line between ambition and desperation.

By Josh Modell