The Bravery, 'The Sun and the Moon' (Island)

Harmless trendiness devolves into grating self-importance.

Step back a bit and the Bravery look like a lark: bouncy, bass-driven, fashionista New Yorkers channeling New Order and inadvertently biting the Killers' style -- things could be worse. But zoom in on this overproduced second album, dripping with newly emboldened lyrical pretensions, and you'll find cracks in the enjoyable clichés. A couple of Killers-lite rump-shakers remain, but they're sunk in the mire by hackneyed ballads about troubled teens (the god-awful "Tragedy Bound") and choruses that strain for the rafters in the most painfully obvious ways.

Now Hear This:
The Bravery - "Time Won't Let Me Go" DOWNLOAD MP3

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