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'Bureau' makes for a somewhat languid opener. Instead, Way keeps things simple and spiky. Given past ostentatious exploits, you'd be forgiven for expecting Hesitant Alien to paint in especially broad strokes, but the nods are often quite subtle and at no point does the narrative make way for Phil Daniels-esque caricatures. In his quest to alter the current scene, Way has attempted to tap into and resurrect, of all things, Britpop. If anything, his first solitary missive registers as much as a tribute to influences as it does a focused reboot. Though Way is at his most engaged in years, there's no major reinvention here. Distortion is employed as its own instrument. Pageantry is retained, as are pop sensibilities. It's quite the bold statement, one made all the more curious when it becomes apparent that this record could easily fall under the My Chemical Romance banner.

Now 38-years-old, Way has spoken of wanting 'to change the landscape of music a bit' with debut solo effort Hesitant Alien. His band would hang on a little longer but they were spent as a creative force. Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys, a middling album lacking the ambition and invention of previous work, exhausted him.

The requisite marks were hit but the guy looked tired. When I saw him onstage at a festival in 2011, he was going through the motions beneath a shock of pink hair and an overcast sky. Whether you marched in step with My Chemical Romance's Black Parade or scoffed from afar at its merrily melancholic pomp and circumstance, you must credit Gerard Way for committing so relentlessly to the part.Īs MCR wound down, Way cut a curious figure.