FM
History
American rock band out of Los Angeles, CA formed in 2002 by Pete Murray (2) and Neil Godfrey after the disbandment of their previous band, Ultraspank, in 2001.Freedom is a beautiful thing. Take it from Abraham Lincoln, Sir William Wallace, Rage Against the Machine and now Southern California’s finest resurrected rock titans Lo-Pro. After a promising 2003 self-titled debut that yielded not only a bona fide radio smash in the crunching “Sunday”, but riveting acoustic gigs with Staind mainman Aaron Lewis, the quintet sunk into that all-too-familiar quagmire of label and cashflow malaise. Fast-forward several years, and Lo-Pro have liberated themselves with a vengeance on the strength of long-anticipated sophomore full-length The Beautiful Sounds of Revenge, easily one of the most addictive and passionate mainstream rock records of the year.
Lo-Pro’s climb has been steep but rewarding, and is reflected with brutal honesty in Revenge’s 14-song rollercoaster. While so many modern rock crews wallow in unearned misery, frontman Pete Murray bluntly and unapologetically retraces his band’s rocky road, from the infectious gallop of “Texas” (“Maybe I did it all because I wanted to”) to the jarring chugs of “Early Morning Anger” (“Was I so out of line to think you’d be there?”) Yet, the quintet is just as adept at conjuring mid-tempo thunderclaps (“A Life That’s Just Begun,” “Wasting Away”) that boast Murray-favorite U2’s sprawling emotional majesty. This is an angry record, but it’s just as confessional and introspective.