![]() ![]() ![]() Hexum’s forced lyrics was occasionally multiplied in their evil purposes by SA Martinez’ solo singing at the top of his range, which was aesthetically grating to my ears because it was almost nasally when it wasn’t complimented by Hexum’s harmonizing and vice versa. It is the tendency of Nick Hexum to do this sort of nonsense which really turned me off to the band’s last four records. I just want to reach into the song and jar the narrator back into “sh– talking mode”, which is more reminiscent of earlier 311. The fact that the person who is uttering these lines is a good looking guy in a very successful and widely known band makes it even worse. The delivery of lyrics that suggest self-doubt and confusion about a multitude of topics from one’s place in the world to one’s place in the affections of some unnamed “you”, to uncertainty about what one is doing at the moment is a thread which travels through a lot of these songs and it really gets kind of old after a while. Much of it has to do with the forced introspection of the lyrics and their delivery which has also tainted several of their recent records. It is unfortunate that this record has these weaknesses- the good on this record is really good, but after my three hundred and eleventh listen through, the bad will probably prevent me from coming back to it. I heard the single “Five of Everything” and on the strength of my band loyalty, acquired the record.įirst, let me say that there are some weaknesses on this record which will keep it from being on regular rotation for me 15 years from now. Due to my long enjoyment of their earlier stuff, it is therefore fairly safe to bet that I was going to check this record out as soon as I became aware that they had released it. I still regularly listen to their first six studio albums, but “Evolver” and those following it get almost no play in my library because I have thought those records are boring, formulaic and self-focused. So, I am not exactly an objective critic of anything 311 has done. There is not any record which comes close to that record in terms of my music preferences. Their record “Transistor” is my favorite album of all time, of all records I have listened to in my life. I should state clearly that I am somewhat more than a casual fan of 311- they are one of the better bands that I have enjoyed for almost twenty years now, and they have never really stopped making decent-to-good alternative rock and roll. And I finally think I am ready for a review of the record on its own terms. ![]() I am on perhaps my 6th listen through of this record in three days. ![]() I scrapped that idea and decided to focus on a comparison between their new album “Stereolithic” or rather “Ster3ol1th1c" (notice, if you will, calling it "311- Stereolithic” is a bit redundant because the 311 is in the word) and better offerings like, for example, their master work “Transistor”. At first, I envisioned the review as a grand history of the intersection of the music made by 311 and my music tastes. I had intended to write a review for this record for a couple days now, and think I can finally get to it. Haberdasher’s Review of 311’s Stereolithic ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |