by Corey Apar
Victory Records just can't help themselves. It seems they must sign any reasonably cute group of guys, in this case Minnesota's Four Letter Lie, that appear on the label's doorstep following completion of the screamo/post-hardcore workshop -- which of course includes extensive lessons on the mastering of a flat iron. And why not, since indiscriminate fans of anything Victory plasters across the Internet will eagerly eat this record up, regardless of the fact that there's very little to distinguish Four Letter Lie and their debut, Let Your Body Take Over, from all the other groups clogging iPods across American high schools. Four Letter Lie is simply the next recruit to Victory's emo army who can concurrently ape toughness and emanate sensitivity, proficiently able to alternate between smooth singing and abrasively guttural growls within seconds of one another. But way more sweet than sour, this quintet never really goes straight for the jugular; their heaviest moments aren't near as heavy as some of their peers, melody-laden tracks like "Naked Girl Avalanche," "Let Your Body Take Over," and especially "Feel Like Fame" pretty representative of the unremarkable bunch. The Cookie Monster parts never add anything substantial to the songs, sounding simply thrown in because, well, isn't that what you're supposed to do? If the growlers would just back off and let vocalist Brian Nagan (who really has a pleasant enough voice) sing more, Four Letter Lie could make a halfway decent rock band. But it's like they know how well the whole singing-for-the-ladies/growling-for-the-guys spiel works for their peers that they'd rather not chance leaving it out. Too bad for them, since ultimately, Let Your Body Take Over is forgotten almost as soon as its 40 minutes are up.