Ladies and gentlemen, “My So Called Life”’s Jared Leto really can sing. The proof is on his band 30 Seconds To Mars’ sophomore album A Beautiful Lie, where Leto’s voice eerily resembles that of Our Lady Peace’s frontman Raine Maida, albeit with more of a penchant for the ever popular pretty-boy-rock screech as perfected by Dashboard Confessional.

The titular track “A Beautiful Lie” delves into the story of a relationship gone sour, in which Leto croons, “I’ve got to remember/this is just a game.” At one point Leto stops singing altogether and begins to talk in a paranoid whisper.

The slightly mellower “Was It A Dream?” doesn’t seem to belong on this album. The track is paced much more slowly than the others and Leto doesn’t screech once. Also the song reaches almost–shudder–”emo” heights as it is highlighted by the sound of raindrops.

With the track Savior the band tries to be philosophical with lyrics like “Don’t save me/because I don’t care.” Even though the lyrics are a tad lame, the song it itself, with nearly overwhelming drums and a solid bass, is not.

30 Seconds To Mars offers up, as a bonus track, a cover of Björk’s “Hunter.” While it may be a cardinal sin to cover any Björk song, Leto’s voice blends perfectly with the her masterful lyrics to create a very honorable homage.

Most of the tracks on this album are extremely similar and follow a certain pattern of guitar intro, Jared Leto croons–then screeches–as the pace quickens until the song comes to a complete halt.

However, it’s done so well that, even though you feel like maybe you’ve been listening to one song for 45 minutes, you don’t really care.