Nex are four lads based in London and this self-titled is their debut effort. What we have here is the emo sounds of Trivium, a bit of radio-friendly nu-punk Green Day style and a smattering of nu-metal sounding distinctly System Of A Down in places - particularly on the odd “omg” and funnily enough on “Uncle S.A.M.” which is a political ditty for which the SOAD guys are also well-known.

As the album plods on I find myself starting to lose patience - it's just too bland for me, nothing new or exciting about it and there's little that marks it out as particularly awful or particularly good, no peaks or troughs. That's just me though - objectively if you're keen on Trivium or Green Day it will have much more appeal and to be fair it is littered with catchy riffs. If you're keen on SOAD I'd approach it with caution as there's just the odd couple of tracks that are in the same style as the rather unconventional Armenian/Americans.

I've tried listening to this album several times and it's not winning me over I'm afraid - in fact, the more I hear them, the lyrics grate on me. Laboured rhymes such as “I don't know your name but we look the same” and “In every corner there is a trauma” sound like schoolyard chants. It's not often I criticise (or indeed, mention) lyrics - it's just that these really did get on my nerves after a few listens and familiarity breeds contempt in this case.

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Review by Amanda Hyne