Review Summary: While it's missing what made their self titled a classic, Out Of the Vein proves to be another solid release by Third Eye Blind.
A few years ago, if somebody would have asked me about Third Eye Blind I would have shrugged them off as another band whose fifteen minutes of fame was over long ago. Upon receiving their 1997 classic self titled album for my sixteenth birthday I was proved rather wrong. Third Eye Blind have often proved that they are ahead of the pack with Stephan Jenkins witty lyrics and Kevin Cadagons’' songwriting contributions. They released two albums in the nineties, their self titled album and 1999's darker 'Blue' before Cadagon left in 2000. Cadagons & Jenkins songwriting collaborations proved to be the strongest point of Third Eye Blinds' songwriting and Cadogons' departure had many wondering what led in store for their newest effort. Armed with new guitarist Tony Fredianelli, Third Eye Blind released "Out Of The Vein".
"Out Of The Vein" is Third Eye Blinds' third LP and is their most underrated release. During the months leading up to Out Of The Vein the release date was delayed several times. At the same time, 3Eb's record label Elektra Records was being absorbed into Atlantic records. Atlantic did almost nothing to promote the record and the two singles that were released, "Crystal Baller" and "Blinded" did not receive the airplay that 3Eb's older singles had received. The new songs initially still sound like Third Eye Blind, but they miss some of the hooks and fun that classics such as "Semi-charmed Life" and "Jumper" had.
The album opens up with "Faster" which greets the listener with the almost constant optimistic tone that the rest of the record shares. With lines such as "I want to get off one time/and not apologize" Jenkins shows that he has lost none of his lyrical wit over the years. Faster contains one of the biggest choruses that 3Eb have ever made also. "Forget Myself" which may be one of the best 3Eb songs to date, opens with a bass line followed by a great spacey guitar riff and contains a very catchy chorus. "Crystal Baller", "My Hit And Run", and "Palm Reader" are all lead by great hooks to keep the songs memorable. "Danger" and Company" join "Faster" as being the faster paced rock songs with "Company" being the strongest of all of them.
While containing some of their best songs to date, Out Of The Vein sometimes suffers from some lazy songwriting and lack of original hooks. Single "Blinded" proves to be a decent song but falls in comparison to older singles such as "Never Let You Go" and "Deep Inside Of You". "Misfits" which has an interesting acoustic guitar part is plagued by an outro that last a little too long. "Self Righteous" which features guest vocals from Kimya Dawson actually starts as a decent ballad but ultimately goes nowhere. "Can't Get Away" and "Wake For Young Souls" have potential to be exceptional songs but the hooks fall short and often come off as somewhat corny.
Out Of The Vein ends on a good note with possibly the second best song on the record "Good Man". Starting off with a two chord clean guitar riff, Stephan Jenkins sings "If you ever find a way to put this all to rest/cause I'm hanging on your dress now like a little boy". The song progresses slowly with Jenkins switching between a singing and a light rapping style. Around the three minute mark the band comes in for the climax with Jenkins singing "And all you ever wanted/was a good man", ending the record almost perfectly.
While Out Of The Vein doesn't contain any of the summer like anthems that got them attention ("Semi-charmed Life", "Never Let You Go"), or any of their darker songs ("The Background", "Narcolepsy") that has kept their fan base strong, it stands on its own as being the most optimistic of the first three albums. Songs like "Forget Myself" and 'Good Man" show that Jenkins still has that knack for a good pop song, but songs such as "Misfits" and "Self Righteous" don't meet their full potential to be stand-out songs. Out Of The Vein proves that Third Eye Blind still has it in them.
Recommended songs:
Forget Myself
My Hit And Run
Good Man
Crystal Baller
