Review Summary: Despite some occasional good songs, this is 4Lyn's worst album.
As a fan of this band, I would definitely rank 'Neon' as 4Lyn's worst album. That's not to say it's all bad, but in terms of consistant songwriting, songs, and production value, it's a significant notch below their other albums.
4Lyn is a 4 piece rock band from the fine city of Hamburg, Germany. Their style I would generally classify as hard rock/nu metal, but they've evolved over each successive album. Their self-titled debut could've easily passed as an early Limp Bizkit album (think 3 Dollar Bill Y'all) with some Beastie Boys and Papa Roach thrown in for good measure. It was a youthful, energetic, and aggressive album with tight musicianship and variety. The only downfall were the lyrics. Imagine 15 songs only about drinking, sex, and how awesome they are.
'Neon' is their sophomore album. Unfortunately, it's a step back from the energy and promise of their debut. It opens with the kick ass "Me Vs. Me", which has a groovy, hard rocking riff. It's impossible not to get worked up when you hear this one.
The energy continues through the incredibly juvenile but fun "2nd Round" and the similar "Deadnekk".
But then, the quality drops significantly when you reach the painful "Pearls And Beauty", a slow rap-rock ditty about the singer's girlfriend. The vocals/rapping are terrible and while the lyrics I'm sure are sincere, it's just a painful song to listen to.
And it just falls from there. Alot of "*** you society, I'm an original" lyrics coupled with whiny rapping and thin vocals. This wouldn't be so bad if the songs rocked hard, but after the excellent first three songs, it just dies down for the rest of the album. "Angry Horns" already sounds incredibly dated, and "Brompton City Anthem" is whiteboy rap at its worst.
I can't fault 4Lyn for trying, but if you're interested in getting into this otherwise great band, I'd advise to try the other albums. If you hate rap-rock or anything relating to nu-metal, stay far far away.
I definitely recommend the first three songs, the rest you can flush down the toilet.
