This came out in 2003 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
Without ever having met Socialburn singer Neil Alday, I’m willing to bet he spent a sizable portion of his teen years hunkered down in his room, singing along to Nirvana’s Nevermind.
How can I tell? Well, mainly because nearly every word that comes out of his mouth on his band’s sophomore disc Where You Are is delivered with the same anguished, razor-blade scrape that Cobain so famously imprinted upon a generation. Now, were Alday starring in a Kurt-inspired musical, this would be a point in his favour. But as a guy trying to lead his own band, being so blatantly derivative doesn’t do him any favours whatsoever. The fact that he and his band traffic in the same sort of post-grunge pop-metal as hundreds of other equally faceless outfits only makes matters worse. Unless Alday can find his own voice, he’s never going to inspire teens to hunker down in their room with his albums.
