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SGR · 06-03-2022, 04:12 PM

Man this album is long - I mean like long, long. I guess I kinda see RS’s comparison to Pearl Jam, but this definitely seems to be more aligned with post-grunge (in other words, all the bands that Pearl Jam influenced). It’s that awkward interim between grunge and when it became the cool thing to do to sprinkle rap refrains into alternative rock songs (nu-metal). Something more like this band than Pearl Jam:

That aside, it’s okay. The production job is nice - everything sounds crisp, dynamic and punchy to my ears. Think this one escaped becoming victim to the loudness wars - either that or my ears simply can’t tell the difference anymore (in other words, I’ve been corrupted by modernity).

Once “Strange Days” hit, I definitely saw the Pearl Jam parallels, so I’ll concede that point a bit.

“Load Me Up” is actually a pretty nice tune - very catchy stuff. But most of the rest of the album kind of fades into a blur for me.

This honestly seems to me to be the kind of album that if you grew up with it, and heard it as a teenager, I could see this being a favorite - or at least an album encapsulated with strong nostalgia. Many of the songs hit that sweet spot between anger, angst, sadness and longing that the greatest pivotal “growing up” albums have. I’ve listened to plenty of grunge and alternative rock growing up and I have many albums that are similar to this one that I hold dearly. (Pearl Jam’s first three albums, Dirt, Superunknown, Smashing Pumpkins’ entire discography pre-breakup, SOAD’s entire discography, etc.) I’m by no means a stranger to this kind of music. Unfortunately, much of that music, like this, doesn’t do as much for me as it used to.

I’ve never heard of this band before, but apparently they’re big in Canada and little known elsewhere. Probably overrated in Canada and probably underrated everywhere else - the middle is probably where the truth lies. This album is okay - it’s serviceable alternative rock, with little flash and not many tricks.

The songwriting here is not novel, and neither is the instrumentation. The singer’s voice begins to grate after hour long+ playtime. The songs are too long, the album is too long, and there’s not enough to justify it. For what it is, it’s okay. But I’m left wishing it was a bit more. If the songs were a little better, it’d almost feel like the Canadian version of Urban Hymns - a fairly strong opening that drags and drags on for much too long with nothing at all to truly justify it.

5.5/10

I'm assuming music_collector, that this is an album you hold dearly, I'd be interested to hear your story with it if you're willing to share.

06-03-2022, 04:12 PM	#272 (permalink)
SGR No Ice In My Bourbon Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: /dev/null Posts: 4,326	Man this album is long - I mean like long, long. I guess I kinda see RS’s comparison to Pearl Jam, but this definitely seems to be more aligned with post-grunge (in other words, all the bands that Pearl Jam influenced). It’s that awkward interim between grunge and when it became the cool thing to do to sprinkle rap refrains into alternative rock songs (nu-metal). Something more like this band than Pearl Jam: That aside, it’s okay. The production job is nice - everything sounds crisp, dynamic and punchy to my ears. Think this one escaped becoming victim to the loudness wars - either that or my ears simply can’t tell the difference anymore (in other words, I’ve been corrupted by modernity). Once “Strange Days” hit, I definitely saw the Pearl Jam parallels, so I’ll concede that point a bit. “Load Me Up” is actually a pretty nice tune - very catchy stuff. But most of the rest of the album kind of fades into a blur for me. This honestly seems to me to be the kind of album that if you grew up with it, and heard it as a teenager, I could see this being a favorite - or at least an album encapsulated with strong nostalgia. Many of the songs hit that sweet spot between anger, angst, sadness and longing that the greatest pivotal “growing up” albums have. I’ve listened to plenty of grunge and alternative rock growing up and I have many albums that are similar to this one that I hold dearly. (Pearl Jam’s first three albums, Dirt, Superunknown, Smashing Pumpkins’ entire discography pre-breakup, SOAD’s entire discography, etc.) I’m by no means a stranger to this kind of music. Unfortunately, much of that music, like this, doesn’t do as much for me as it used to. I’ve never heard of this band before, but apparently they’re big in Canada and little known elsewhere. Probably overrated in Canada and probably underrated everywhere else - the middle is probably where the truth lies. This album is okay - it’s serviceable alternative rock, with little flash and not many tricks. The songwriting here is not novel, and neither is the instrumentation. The singer’s voice begins to grate after hour long+ playtime. The songs are too long, the album is too long, and there’s not enough to justify it. For what it is, it’s okay. But I’m left wishing it was a bit more. If the songs were a little better, it’d almost feel like the Canadian version of Urban Hymns - a fairly strong opening that drags and drags on for much too long with nothing at all to truly justify it. 5.5/10 I'm assuming music_collector, that this is an album you hold dearly, I'd be interested to hear your story with it if you're willing to share.