Order BLACK IS THE NEW BLACK here
I've always been a contrarian when it came to music. Nothing against the most popular bands, but sometimes the movements created by groundbreaking thoughts are worth exploring too. So, when Nirvana was at the height of their popularity, I was exploring the introspective, yet dirty brand of rock n' roll their spiritual cousins Everclear had to offer. Now, they're a good example of a band that didn't take popularity all that well and didn't offer much quality material in the two decades following their breakout record SPARKLE AND FADE, but it's never too late to do the right thing and their new album BLACK IS THE NEW BLACK is an interesting return to form that take twenty years of perspective into account. It kind of rocks and it doesn't sound like a last, desperate swing at relevance. I was not expecting a good record out of them anymore.
Now, Everclear are a deceptively complicated band. Their music isn't the most complex or multifaceted, but they surf a fine line between corporate rock and alternative. BLACK IS THE NEW BLACK is a surprising mix of riffs and melodies you've heard a hundred times before, uncompromising hard rock and a noticeably more mature spin off Everclear's trademark introspective lyrics. It doesn't exactly feel new, but it feels like the album they should've written a long time ago. The first spin will give you that satisfying feeling of something you've been waiting for. Everclear have tried to take the mainstream road for so many years, but what they're good at. They're a band that needs to yell in their listener's ear. Frontman Art Alexakis signs like a man trying to get poison out of him. It's a rare quality that speaks to a lot of people and I'm glad the band seems to have finally understood its purpose.
So, you guessed it. Everclear's main selling points are their heavier song and their frontman. I don't think we would've ever heard about them without Art Alexakis. He's at his best when at his rawest, most vitriolic form. On BLACK IS THE NEW BLACK, these songs are: AMERICAN MONSTER, YOU and ANYTHING IS BETTER THAN THIS. The latter is particularly scorching, relentless and has punk rock edge to it. Nothing fancy, a heavy power chord riff and Art Alexakis howling about depression, but it gets the job done. Special mention to VAN GOGH SUN, which is a borderline power ballad, but that has an imagery to its lyrics that's very unlike Everclear's signature style. It's a pleasant anomaly in their rather predictable artistic landscape.
Here's one of the best song on the record.
Musically, the record stands out for being noticeably heavier than its predecessors, but also quite cleaner. The production is crisp and lean. Not that you need to hear every note travel though, Everclear are not a musically complicated band. Some of the more pop song on the record betray their lack of originality. SUGAR NOISE for example is catchy, but relies on do-it-all rock n' roll riffs that were borrowed by many other bands before them. They're a guitar-lead band, but even their strongest musical aspect is only meant to accompany Art Alexakis' transcendent, charismatic delivery. Dave Grohl once said that white people dance to the lyrics, so it wouldn't be false to call Everclear a white man's band. They are not bad, musically speaking but they're playing it extremely safe, because they don't rely on their melodic mastery to succeed.
BLACK IS THE NEW BLACK is the best Everclear album in twenty years. It's an exhilarating statement to make, but you have to factor into that equation that the band turned their back on what made them popular and actively tried to sell out for a good chunk of that time. It doesn't have the groundbreaking quality of SPARKLE AND FADE, in fact it's a much simpler, straightforward album, but it's made with the same kind of nervous energy that made Everclear compelling in the first place. They're an acquired taste, an existential rock band that may not appeal to much people outside white grownups, but they're finally doing what they should've been doing all along and that's why BLACK IS THE NEW BLACK is so satisfying. Maybe more than it should be, but who cares? The Everclear we love is back.
Standout Tracks: Anything is Better than This, You, American Monster, Van Gogh Sun.
