DAVE MATTHEWS BAND "Everyday"
Dave Matthews Band “Everyday” RCA
Records
Maybe some evil man wearing a Dave Matthews costume put together
the group’s latest album, “Everyday.” While the
real Dave Matthews is locked in a basement somewhere in West
Virginia, this dreadful imposter is fooling everyone into thinking
that the band changed considerably. At least many long-time DMB
fans hope this is the case as they painfully watch their beloved
jam band fall victim to the menacing grasp of the mainstream and
“sell out.” The band has definitely changed. This
change has won them massive amounts of radio air play, a spot on
MTV’s infamous “Total Request Live” and a brief
stint at the top of the Billboard charts. Matthews hung up
his acoustic guitar for a while to play an electric one. The other
band members contributed more in the way of eerie harmonies,
creating a groove and taking a back seat instrumentally to
Matthews’ guitar. The band also brought in producer Glen
Ballard, who has worked with such pop-rock acts as Alanis
Morrissette and Aerosmith, to smooth out the rougher edges of the
tracks. The result is a more polished sound that relies more
heavily on catchy hooks and less so on the violin and saxophone
solos that were a major part of the previous albums. This is not
the Dave Matthews listeners are used to hearing ““ but
that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The drawn-out violin and
sax solos that characterized the band’s earlier work are now
long gone, but their absence has brought the genius of the other
aspects of the music to a wider audience. The band is definitely
more mainstream, even if the album cover urges you to think
otherwise. These guys still aren’t the Backstreet
Boys. Though catchy and full of hooks, the music is well
thought-out and the instrumentation is unbelievable. Much of the
music is still very typical of what fans have come to love from the
band. On the softer songs like “The Space Between” and
“When the World Ends,” Matthews’ smoothly played
electric guitar creates a mellow groove during the verses. In the
chorus, the music erupts into a sea of sound as other band members
fill in with percussion, violins and woodwinds. On the rougher,
more upbeat tracks like the radio hit “I Did It” and
“Dreams of Our Fathers,” Matthews plays amazingly
innovative and percussive guitar licks on a slightly distorted
electric guitar reminiscent of what he used to do on the
acoustic. Meanwhile Matthews’ raw, powerful vocals are
backed up by harmonies from the other band members.Â
Matthews’ lyrics, as usual, are sheer poetry. The songs speak
of lessons in love, dreams and living life to the fullest. The
songs are shorter, more polished and use more harmonies and hooks,
and there are fewer solos. Yet the songs are still Dave
Matthews’. They are still creative, well-written and
well-crafted. At its best, the music will still send shivers down
the spine. Even without the amazing violin, saxophone and drum
solos, Dave Matthews Band is still making great music.
Suneal Kolluri Rating: 7
Buckcherry “Time Bomb”
Dreamworks
Buckcherry is the Sunset Strip metal band that the Dreamworks
machine has been trying to force on metalheads desperate for hard
rock for the last couple of years. Its self-titled debut was a
minor success with the rock-radio hit that would have thrived in
the ’80s prior to alternative radio devouring all hard rock
outlets. On its new follow-up disc, “Time Bomb,”
Buckcherry delivers in a style that emphasizes riffs over
substance. With “Time Bomb,” listeners won’t be
able to help themselves from thinking what a great AC/DC cover band
these guys would make. They lift so many Angus Young riffs,
it’s almost as if they were singing their own lyrics over
karaoke. As part of the current Hollywood glam metal scene, they
also manage to copy elder statesmen of the scene Mötley
Crüe and Poison. If copying is the ultimate form of flattery,
then Buckcherry is a fawning sycophant. It sounds like a group that
missed the joke behind the band Spinal Tap and instead admired its
lyricism. In the tradition of the glam metal bands of the
’80s Sunset Strip, this album has misogyny to spare and the
coherence of a drunken ramble. The lyrics range from silly to
offensive. The group even included the mandatory sappy ballad that
is a hidden extra track. The band’s amps probably go up to
eleven. Some of the lyrics are so stupid they’re hilarious.
like the first person monologue on “Porno Star,” about
a male porn star explaining to his non-porn star date why she
should appreciate his offering his services to her. Some bands are
better off not including lyric sheets with their CDs ““
Buckcherry is one of those bands. A typical chorus by Buckcherry is
like its title track, where lead singer Josh Todd sings in his best
Brian Johnston growl, “It’s coming for you/It’s
coming for me/Life ain’t nothing but bitches and
money.” Whatever, at least the band members are not overly
self-aware manic depressives (Korn/Limp Bizkit) or thirty-something
brats (Blink-182/Green Day). And, face it, glam metal was never
about the lyrics anyway. It’s about kerchunking, catchy riffs
with a self-destructive party-’til-you-puke attitude, and
Buckcherry delivers the goods. There’s nothing original here,
but the band has a good pop sensibility that is comparable to the
early Stone Temple Pilots recordings that made up with catchy hooks
what it lacked in originality. This is not a perfect disc ““
in fact it’s only pretty good ““ but it’s a step
in the right direction. The rock and rap hybrid was really
interesting when it first came out. However, after five years of
listening to all the moping, self-pitying, hip-hop metal hybrids
that are popular with radio stations like KROQ, it’s time to
move on. With sports training, it’s a common practice to take
two steps forward and one step back. As long as athletes make two
positive leaps, the negative moment refreshes and recuperates them
enough to make their next two-tier leap. In the current state of
American rock ‘n’ roll, Buckcherry’s “Time
Bomb” succeeds as a positive step backward.
Scott Schultz Rating: 6
Alien Ant Farm “ANThology” New Noize/
DreamWorks
Who cares about the music ““ these guys have style. Their
first album was called “Greatest Hits,” their major
label debut is “ANThology,” and if it couldn’t
get any cooler, they even cover Michael Jackson’s
“Smooth Criminal.” It’s almost tempting to buy
Alien Ant Farm’s music for the sense of humor alone. Luckily,
the songs turn out to be pretty cool, too. At first listen,
“ANThology” sounds like it’s going to be just
another testosterone-fueled growl-fest. That’s not a huge
surprise, since the quartet used to run in the same circles as Papa
Roach and records on its New Noize label. The foursome has more
tricks up its sleeve, however. What sets AAF apart from the rest of
the sludge that passes for alternative these days is not only does
it have a true ear for music, but hey, this Dryden Mitchell dude
can really sing. While most of its contemporaries are content to
just screech away over distorted guitars, AAF can put a tune
together with some interesting twists. “Attitude” lifts
elements out of the ’80s, “Wish” taps into a
potent, driving groove and, son of a gun, “Universe”
even has some nifty string arrangements. Though guitarist Terence
Corso indulges in his share of heavy metal tomfoolery, on the
whole, the album is a bright spot in an increasingly bland genre.
So whether people pick up a copy of “Anthology” because
they dig the foursome’s jokester mentality or are looking to
hear some quality music, they should be satisfied. Through a
combination of the two, this Alien Ant Farm’s harvest is
looking like a prime one, indeed.
Brent Hopkins Rating: 8