First of all, let me say that I was never a huge fan of My Chemical Romance. Most of their fans are young and worship them like the high-school heartbreakers they are. I've even seen MCR live when opening for random acts, and they never hooked me. That said, imagine my astonishment when I actually enjoyed a few songs on their newest album, “Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge.”

The album begins with the incredibly hooky “Helena.” The lead singer has obviously gotten some voice training since the last album and overall, the band has greatly improved its production. However, by the refrain to “Give 'Em Hell, Kid” (which, by the way, has some very nice drum sequences), I feel like it was written for sing-alongs at a live show. Ugh.

And then, the album keeps going. And going, and going, and going. It keeps up with this Hot-Topic-esque, slightly dark formula of being obviously well-produced, but let's face it, kids, each song is difficult to differentiate from the next, and that gets tiresome.

The best thing “Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge” has going for it is the summery-type flavor in the first few songs ... until you actually listen to what they're singing, and then it becomes shallow, overproduced, and unoriginal, yet fun in a disposable, commercial way. The easy-to-sing choruses are fun until it becomes painfully obvious that there is simply no end! Don't rush out to buy this one.