Nada Surf - The Weight Is a Gift

Back in 1996, the musical landscape was dominated by post-grunge and pop, and in the midst of it was the Little-Band-That-Almost-Could, Nada Surf. They strove for greatness, but only ended up a one hit wonder. “Popular” was a great song, but it got lost in the shuffle of “One Headlight,” “The Freshmen,” “Sell Out,” and “Only Happy When It Rains.” Even so, they pressed on and kept the faith, and it has finally paid off.

Most successful bands start off indie and then go mass-market, but the journey was actually opposite for Nada Surf, starting on Elektra Records but eventually moving to Barsuk, original home of Death Cab for Cutie. Journey is really the right word for what Nada Surf did, too. They began as a good but fairly anonymous pop-punk/post-grunge band, churning out melodies that were largely forgettable, “Popular” excepted. 2002’s Let Go did just that, releasing all the grunge elements in favor of delicate harmonies and lightly-strummed acoustic guitars. Now, 2005’s The Weight is a Gift marks the return of some of those rock and roll tricks, but Nada Surf is being much wiser in their choices. Matthew Caws was always a little on the willowy side with the vocals, and Nada Surf’s music in general was a little more positive, never quite fitting in with the likes of the Smashing Pumpkins or even the Verve Pipe. It’s so good to see them doing their own thing, really using Caws’ voice instead of apologizing for it.

“Concrete Bed” starts the record off on an upbeat note, with a catchy chorus and driving guitar work. One can tell that this is a faster, more intense record than Let Go, as pretty as that album was. Prettiness is not gone from Nada Surf’s repertoire, however, as “Always Love” and “Your Legs Grow” prove. They have improved upon the prettiness, morphing it into one that doesn’t whisper as much as it sings. “Blankest Year” and “Armies Walk” are probably the strongest examples that Nada Surf are embracing their rock roots, but they also utilize Caws’ voice to the greatest effect. And “Imaginary Friends” closes the album with the same flavor as “Concrete Bed” had opening it, bringing the album into a complete circle that is really quite nice.

The Weight is a Gift doesn’t seem like much at first, but it’s very comforting to have it there. It’s a very rewarding listen, getting a little better each time you listen to it. The thing that makes me sad about it is that not many people will really get to experience the gentle but insistent touch of the album, since the band doesn’t have much exposure. Despite that, they are one of the better rock bands out there today. Most of today’s music is really dishonest, as it’s either dismal heavy metal or produced on the American Idol assembly line. It’s good that Nada Surf has finally found their audience; one that’s grown weary of all the contrivances of mass-market music, one that’s ready to move on and take balance over chaos.

Prime Cuts:
Always Love
Do It Again
Your Legs Grow
Blankest Year

22 Rating: 11

Nickelback - All the Right Reasons

On an episode of Friends, the girls are waiting in their apartment for the boys to arrive so they can start barbequing. When Chandler and Joey walk through the door carrying a bag of charcoal, they speak in deep caveman voices saying, “Men are here. We make fire,” and then beat their chests. The girls give them withering looks, as if to say “whatever.” That’s what I feel like saying to Nickelback; whatever.

Chad Kroeger and company are like cavemen, grunting and shambling their way to success. It’s hard to believe that rock and roll that’s this ugly, incompetent, and childish makes the top of the charts, but it does. Nickelback is probably the most popular of all the traditional rock bands, and one of the only ones making a splash in any circles other than the avid rock fans. But why? Sweet Mother of God why? Nickelback makes a lot of the wrong choices, with a few exceptions. When they are really tender, when Kroeger lets all the walls of machoness down and becomes naked (in the metaphorical sense instead of the literal like he usually does), they actually dance pretty gracefully. But it’s the moments of over-arching maleness (and there are a lot of them) that sink this ship. And frankly, I take a little glee in seeing it crash to the bottom of the ocean.

All the Right Reasons is a lot like all their other albums. They’re 10 years into their career, and they don’t seem to have grown at all. The lyrics range from clumsy to disgusting, with lines like “what the hell is on Joey’s head?” leaving me not knowing whether to laugh or cry, at the same time as “it’s a little hard to leave when you’re going down on me” make me want to puke. The proceedings start off on a good enough note. “Follow You Home” has a good groove to it, and the lyrics are creative, if very stalker-like. “Photograph” also has a flow to it that is very nice, even if the lyrics are pedestrian and base. Then there’s “Savin’ Me,” the latest entry to the “How You Remind Me”/”Someday” sound-alike contest. Kroeger may be writing from his own actual perspective, but it’s one of juvenile delinquency, and only a limited number of people can identify with that. Also, some of the juvenile delinquency is celebrated rather than condemned, like in “Animals.” Besides talking about oral sex while driving (against the law, by the way) in the basest and simplest of terms, it describes the selfish and visceral actions of its two protagonists with the line “ain’t nothin’ wrong with it.”

Overall, the music is settled comfortably (read as boringly) in the post-grunge tradition of the mid- to late 90’s. While the lyrics are pretty sexually graphic in nature, the album does not carry an advisory label. Maybe Tipper Gore was asleep at the switch. Even so, it’s not without it’s good moments (“Far Away,” “Someone That You’re With”), but they’re just that: moments. They adhere to the exception rather than the rule. It makes me a little sad (and more than a little confused) that Nickelback’s audience is 75% female, considering that their music is so pig-headedly and chauvinistically male. Oh well, though. If a girl is really into Nickelback, that’s my first indication that she’s not the one for me. Actually, that’s pretty helpful.

Prime Cuts:
Far Away
Someone That You’re With

22 Rating: -8

An apology

Sorry for slacking on the updates. This month is pretty crazy for me, but I should have time to do some reviews after this weekend. Look for Nickelback's All the Right Reasons soon, and Nada Surf's The Weight is a Gift shortly after that.

Bullet For My Valentine - The Poison

I really don’t see what all the fuss is about. Sure, this world is evil and fallen and rotten and all those other things, but do we really need another band telling us that? Bullet For My Valentine’s debut album, The Poison, is laborious, aimlessly angry, and a little tiresome, but it’s also pretty cool. It is filled with tortured screaming and all the self-mutilating fun a guy could want, and you really have to be in the right mode to listen to it.

What mode is that, you ask? Well, you need to be feeling anger at the world in general, like your life doesn’t have a whole lot of purpose, and that you are helpless in the face of your own circumstances. And it helps if your girlfriend just dumped you. In truth, The Poison brings a lot of good things to the table. The guitar sound is simply awesome, the drums deliver gut-churning power (a requirement for any metal band worth their salt), and the vocals are sufficiently passionate, if being a little over the top… alright, a freaking ton over the top.

As much as it grooves, jerks, and jostles in a good way, the thing that turns me off is the screaming. Why do so many bands today feel it necessary to scream at the top of their lungs? And I don’t mean occasionally; all the freaking time! Never mind that the lead singer cannot possibly hope to do it every night without needing surgery in short order; it’s just not as good as singing. In Bullet For My Valentine’s case, they don’t scream to cover up the fact that they can’t sing, because they certainly can. Instead, it comes out of a passion and fervency for what they are screaming about. I can respect the idea behind that, even if I don’t like the particulars.

On the plus side, the thing that’s causing the songwriter so much trouble is one we can all identify with: love. Really, his reactions to the wrongs that love has dealt him are not the best (like the titular bullet), but we are all prone to them, and we have all had them at one time or another (in spirit, anyway). In that way, Bullet For My Valentine are making music that is pretty universal, whether we want to admit it or not.

In summation, I liked The Poison; I just don’t think I’ll really listen to it that much. In fact, I would be fine with never hearing Bullet For My Valentine again. Nothing on the album really grabbed me, so I’m fine just letting it pass by. Still, though, I appreciated it. The band is pretty skilled, both at the technical aspects and at making music people can believe in. It has a lot of passion, even if it completely lacks subtlety. At the end, though, I don’t know what they’re so upset about. Well, actually, I do know, but my first reaction would not be to scream about it; it would be to shrug. There’s no sense getting yourself all worked up over something you can’t change. Bullet For My Valentine are definitely getting themselves worked up.

Prime Cuts:
Intro/Her Voice Resides
Tears Don’t Fall
Cries In Vain

22 Rating: 6