Following in the wake of their Welsh countrymen Lostprophets, the Kennedy Soundtrack are the latest band to prove that America doesn't have a monopoly on the genre of nu-metal. But while their debut album, A Tale Of 2 Cities owes more than a little to the middle-finger angst of Limp Bizkit's Chocolate Starfish and the Hot-Dog Flavoured Water, there's little doubt that the Kennedy Soundtrack are the more authentic voice of youth.

The bullish "Wrong Day" fuses Durstian rap-metal grind to the stadium grunge of Faith No More, seguing from spittle-flecked battle rhymes to moody, epic rock moves with an effortless verve. The weed-centric rhymes of Cypress Hill are clearly an influence, with "Side To Side" giving the Los Angeles rappers a run for their money in the toking stakes. And on "Strain", they even weave a simplistic evocation of emotional trauma, the band letting up on the feedback roar as rapper Nic Havard and singer Dave Challenger trade misty-eyed tales of relationship breakdown and fuzzy-headed narcotic escape. --Louis Pattison