Collective Soul. Does anyone even know they have released a new album a couple of months back called "youth". Their eponymous album was one of my all time favourites-- Ed Roland's Classicist-Anthemic-Rock-meets-Grungy-Alternative-meets-Sugary-Pop melodies/lyrics and Ross Childress's thick, lush and blistering guitars. They have lost their flair ever since. With 'dosage' they were neither here nor their, but on 'Blender', OMFG, they literally lost the plot. They were looking shimmery with short neatly cropped hair.... the perfect boyband image. Did they ever knew who their audience were? and what's more... a duet with SIR Elton John??? ....
Nevertheless, indeed Collective Soul may never reach their peak again just like how Weezer will unlikely have another 'pinkerton' and Chris Isaak will never write another "Wicked Game", all collective soul tracks however are still always fresh and crisp sounding like minty-fruit candy. They may not be very commercially viable anymore nor critically recognised, their fanbase might have been watered down to a barely distinctable trace, it all doesn't matter. The music on Youth is just the type where u can leave it on in the background and not think about it or hear it... its perfect for the times when you don't really care about listening to music but just wanna beat the silence.... the songs do not evoke much thoughts or emotions (ok, maybe some as evident by this posting). It is just plain pleasant radio-friendly pop-rock that is not on the radio. How cool is that? ........... Yup, their latter day songs do reminds you of Toad the Wet Sprocket but yet not exactly... (Toad's coil album is an attempt at post-grunge which ends up along the collective soul kind of sound)...
A little known band called 'vibrolush' can be filed under this same category of music along with 'Tonic' and perhaps 'Jars of Clay'. Basically these bands are rip-offs of the real deal.
Collective Soul may have lost their soul, but not their hooks... hooks that come and go, not memorable or inspiring, but pleasing.
Nevertheless, indeed Collective Soul may never reach their peak again just like how Weezer will unlikely have another 'pinkerton' and Chris Isaak will never write another "Wicked Game", all collective soul tracks however are still always fresh and crisp sounding like minty-fruit candy. They may not be very commercially viable anymore nor critically recognised, their fanbase might have been watered down to a barely distinctable trace, it all doesn't matter. The music on Youth is just the type where u can leave it on in the background and not think about it or hear it... its perfect for the times when you don't really care about listening to music but just wanna beat the silence.... the songs do not evoke much thoughts or emotions (ok, maybe some as evident by this posting). It is just plain pleasant radio-friendly pop-rock that is not on the radio. How cool is that? ........... Yup, their latter day songs do reminds you of Toad the Wet Sprocket but yet not exactly... (Toad's coil album is an attempt at post-grunge which ends up along the collective soul kind of sound)...
A little known band called 'vibrolush' can be filed under this same category of music along with 'Tonic' and perhaps 'Jars of Clay'. Basically these bands are rip-offs of the real deal.
Collective Soul may have lost their soul, but not their hooks... hooks that come and go, not memorable or inspiring, but pleasing.
posted by vacance at 18:34
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home