In essence,
Sospeso is nothing but a localized rehash of Anglo-American radio rock of the 2000s -- although, to their credit,
Lost don't copy any single act, offering instead a stab at alt-rock's sum total with even a few individual (but not original) twists added. The record goes for a larger than life sound, and in doing so veers between
U2 and post-grunge, leading the songs with a catchy lick here and some reverberating guitar textures strewn over steady bass drones there (think a slower "With or Without You"), but invariably climaxing in huge choruses. In other words, nothing that was not done before. There are even some honest to God power ballads -- the type of music not really heard since the demise of hair metal, but returning here in an updated stylistic form, so as to sound like an emo piece rather than a
Def Leppard outtake. These songs are already firmly on the sappy and melodic side, but it's on other tracks that
Lost's pop instincts take full control, which leads the group to begin adding dance rhythms to its guitar riffs. Not that this was never done before --
Bravery and even
Killers were conquering airwaves with this combo for years -- but at least the disco beats turn the otherwise run-of-the-mill rock ditties into bouncy and catchy tunes. The approach culminates in the gargantuan blunder of "Sulla Mia Pelle," which was meant to be the album's centerpiece but came out a laughable Latin pop ditty, yet the industrial rock vibe of other tracks helps to level out the impression of
Sospeso, confirming it to be a generic but enjoyable album. ~ Alexey Eremenko