REVIEW: Everclear, So Much For the Afterglow (Capitol)
- Scott Slonaker
After the platinum-plated success of 1995's Sparkle and Fade and a hit that will be heard on radios in 2015 ("Santa Monica"), the pressure is on Art Alexakis to prove that his Pacific Northwest alt-rock trio isn't just a You-Know-Who Junior. Such labels persist despite wide critical acceptance of Fade simply due to the group's geographic hailings and musical modus operandi, so it behooved them to attempt at least a mild stylistic breakout with So Much For the Afterglow, their third album.
The best thing about Everclear is Alexakis' ability to achieve catharsis out of mantra-like statements (pogo-mosh riffs and hooky choruses help too) that deal with problems in a way that is much more therapeutic than just simply whiny. Certainly, their best songs all possess such a moment; without "we can live beside the ocean/Watch the world die" ("Santa Monica") or "Just another overdose!" ("Heroin Girl"), those songs are simply ear candy. Sparkle and Fade as a whole managed to keep that let's- recognize-and-deal-instead-of-bitch vibe to it (drawing on Alexakis' former decade-long addiction to drugs as subject matter), which is the root of what made it work so well.
So, Alexakis tries to keep the lyrical strengths and branch out musically on the follow-up, as strings, banjo, keyboards, and mandolin find their ways into the mix. Unfortunately, he's been forced to look for new subject matter (at the risk of sounding repetitive), so Afterglow's lyrics deal with childhood memories, fame, escape, and religion. The problem is that Alexakis is not near as articulate on these matters as he was about drugs, and so the lyrical content often comes off sounding forced and trite. "I don't want to be normal like you" and "I will buy you a new car/Perfect, shiny, and new" are considerably more teenage-ish, which would have been okay if not for the recorded precedents already set. Exacerbating this is Art's tendency to reuse phrases ("dance that stupid dance for me", "I heard the truth about you") from previous recordings, which causes a certain sameness to hang over a couple of the lesser tracks on the record. The exceptions are the bracingly frank "Father of Mine" and the second-person introspective "Like a California King", where Alexakis issues himself a terse warning against any possibility that his newfound stardom might go to his head.
The good news, however, is that Afterglow, in a word, rocks. The basic format, complete with the countrified undercurrents that always gave Everclear distinctivity, remains intact. Additionally, the aforementioned new elements go a long way towards keeping the band's essentially second-generation- Replacements pop-punk interesting. "Everything to Everyone", the lead single, utilizes a buzzing Cars-ish keyboard hook to build the closest thing to a dance groove that Everclear's ever recorded. "Amphetamine" adds a pretty string postlude to a thrashy hook. The plucky banjo rhythms of "Why I Don't Believe in God" recall Wilco or Son Volt. "Father of Mine" turns a familiar descending riff and leonine, impassioned vocals into the band's best chance to recapture "Santa Monica" heaven. Similarly, the title track doesn't need window dressing to cause whiplash.
Art Alexakis is a warrior, and if Everclear fails to hold the brass ring it grabbed two years ago, it won't be for lack of effort. So Much For the Afterglow, despite its subjective weaknesses, is an enjoyable effort from a band who is the real deal.
