Come on people, bear this with me. If you're a big fan of Nickelback, well, chances are you will need to hang on tight. And if you're not, and more of a 'hater' as so you will... maybe you need to pin them down if you're hanging them somewhere. Because by now, you'll have plenty more to tend to.
No Fixed Address is Nickelback's eight studio album, and you might be surprised at how far they've come. Now, there's always the stereotypical people who aren't that into Nickelback and take the eye from the pearl. In other words, they love to hate Nickelback and they hate to love them too. Obviously, they haven't had their best days, and I believe they sort of returned to form, if I do say with their most recent album, Here And Now. I do enjoy some of their records, but I agree with others when they say that their music isn't extraordinary. They generally lack that extra bit of punch to make their sound much more enticing. So how does No Fixed Address fair up to their catalog? Hmm. To say that it is underwhelming is correct to a certain degree, but the overall unpleasantness and the vibe erupting from this record, showcases a very broad scope of inconsistency that has been brought to the table by everyone working on this record. Including you, Flo Rida who probably has no clue and idea why he's even included in the first place. Right off the bat, the record starts off with Million Miles An Hour and Edge of a Revolution which are basically formulaic Nickelback tracks that have seen light for those tracks that have come before them (When We Stand Together). That really isn't the point, considering the band has had quite a success with it which they have stringed together since their sophomore album came out. As grimy and as thick as the production really tries to blend it's way through and still show true grit and emotion, they immediately become a messy cluster that is individually sound but a combination of chaos. Granted, there are really good guitar solos, albeit restricted, that I thought was well done. However, if you're looking for something different, maybe you've come to the right place. The groovy, weird and synthetic-lead production for She Keeps Me Up; the piano-chord melodic sentiment track Satellite; the repetitive and overused sound in Miss You; and last but not least, the percussion and bass-enthused track which features Flo Rida on Got Me Running Round - may seem to all be experimental records, but in a wider scope, they really feel as if the band was just pulling out guns with loaded bullets. Some of them hit, some of them don't, most of them are easily forgettable, but for the most part, the tracks are incredibly inconsistent. While this has, to be fair, already been plaguing the band since their early records. Do we expect something of a good calibre? Not really. The only track that really stands out and shoves them in a good direction is The Hammer's Coming Down. The intro of piano chords, mixed in with the thumping guitars and drums makes for a kick-ass tune that doesn't really seem out of place in all sectors. What comes up as interesting is that they really handle the transition really well for that track specifically. Man, for what would happen had the album been revolving around stripped layers of instruments before laying a gigantic punch in the end. All in all, I'm not disappointed by the sound Nickelback is trying to bathe in, but the way they go about doing it. While it may seem like a good idea to have one track talking political and the other straight after which is immature, maybe you're doing something wrong? And what is with these low-end love tracks that just feel awkward as hell? The ones that they really blustered and popped were some of the anthemic tracks in the past: Burn It To The Ground especially. Yes, the tracks are cheesy and yes, the tracks don't mean a thing, but damn, do they sound extreme on most ends. Rating: 5/10 Favourite Tracks: The Hammer's Coming Down, Get Em' Up Least Favourite Tracks: Satellite, Miss You, Sister Sin, What Are You Waiting For? Formulaic, inconsistent, messy, chaotic, overload and lyrically dumbed down, No Fixed Address is a well-suited name for an album that strays from cohesion and blends in with the unrelated. Nickelback needs to step up in every direction and to be fair, up the tempo and the hype. Because as it stands, this is ordinarily empty.
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AuthorBenny Ong: Just your regular guy who likes soccer more than most people, and also a little downtime is pretty nice. Archives
May 2017
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