Review Summary: Almost a step back
(I have no idea why, but this site refuses to properly load question marks)
Finger Eleven has always straddled the line between boring, formulaic and uninteresting butt rock, and legitimately really good music. One of the reasons that I always did, and still do hold this band in much higher regard than some of their contemporaries, would be the fact that from a lyrical standpoint, they’ve always been vastly superior to other bands within their genre. They have consistently compelling songs, both lyrically and musically. Their songs have always been more poetic, artistic and mature in nature than bands like Shinedown, or (god forbid) Nickelback. Every member of this band is fairly talented, and Scott Anderson is a fantastic vocalist.
So, this sounds like a recipe for success, right? All these talented people writing good songs❓ Well, not exactly. Coming off of their album right before this, I was scared. That was a step down for the band. And after the insane success of Paralyzer, it was only a matter of time before they sold their souls to the music industry and lost everything that made them unique. So how does this album fare? Does it destroy their reputation and abandon everything that made them special to begin with? Or is it a step forward and a natural evolution for this band?
Both. That might sound like a convoluted thing to say, but that is genuinely what happened here. The sound is heavy, yet clean and bordering on overproduced. They lyrics are still meaningful and passionate, yet, they’ve lost some complexity and, are easier for someone to understand. This feels like a middle ground between what the band probably wanted to do, and what their manager, producer and record label would have wanted them to do. The end result is a satisfying album that takes the best qualities of mainstream “Butt Rock” and the best things about the band, before “Them Vs. You Vs. Me”.
One of the best examples of them somewhat new direction that this album takes, is on the very first track of the album, “Any Moment Now.” This song bring the album to life, starting off with a loud, distorted, simple, and effective, and repetitive guitar riff. It continues building up, before dissipating, as the first verse comes in. As the first verse ends, it jumps into the chorus the riff from the beginning pops back up, before disappearing again, for the second verse. Which builds beautifully on the first, with added guitar and bass, giving it a full bodied powerful sound. Than almost all the music cuts out abruptly, for a calm, almost whispered bridge, before every element that this song had introduced thus far, plays over the chorus, in a brilliant crescendo, that is definitely one of the high points of the album.
The high quality of this album is consistent with the whole album, with each song adding new and interesting ideas, putting this album ahead of any of its peers. As a whole this album is more upbeat, and positive than their previous outputs, so it makes for an enjoyable and fun listen. Some of the highlights of this album would have to be “Any Moment Now” “Living in a Dream” “Don’t Look Down” and “Pieces fit” the only track that isn’t really good is “Originary Life”
TLDR: Just give this album a listen, it’s a excellently played, masterfully produced, and beautifully written album.
