Billy Talent – 'Red Flag' (Atlantic) Released 11/09/06

It's probably a mistake on your press release to describe your new video, released on September 11 as "explosive." Not malicious, just bloody stupid. Funny then, that this could probably describe the new single from Toronto's Billy Talent  - 'Red Flag' – an inoffensive, boring and monumentally dumb punk record that reeks of the kind of MTV influenced pop rock that we thought had died out with Blink 182.

Billy Talent are the kind of band that play first on the main stage at Reading on the 'rock' day – too commercial for the tents, too boring and unimaginative to move higher up the bill. Too give you some kind of idea how distinctly ordinary Billy Talent are, check out their albums. Eponymously titling your debut album is dull. Calling your second album… wait for it… Billy Talent II is just moronic. And proudly stating that they recorded their masterpiece in Bryan Adam's studio?! I'm spluttering as I write this. I'm assuming that 'Red Flag' is some kind of abortive political statement – moronic missives like "Speak for yourself or they'll speak for you… Our only weapons are the guns of youth" are spat out in whining, sub Johnny Rotten tones – the red flag of the old Labour party it certainly ain't.