After
much anticipation, Finger Eleven has finally released their
self-titled third full length album. With the recent success
of many of the bands on the Wind-Up label, Finger Eleven couldn't
have chosen a better time to have this album released. One
major question pops up immediately from this, will this new
album be the next big success story for the label? Does it
have enough appeal to break into the mainstream?
Finger
Eleven has tried exceptionally hard to change some elements
of their music to become a little more accessible for everyone.
As a result of this, some of the songs just don't have the
same ferocity and originality as others contained in previous
releases like "Tip" and "The Greyest of Blue Skies". Mediocre
hooks and consistently underpowered rhythms plague many of
the songs. This CD just doesn't grab your attention like "The
Greyest of Blue Skies" did, which overshadows this release
in quality by far. It feels like limits were put into place
to keep the album from truly being original and captivating.
At many points in the music where you expect explosions of
emotion, it tends to become subdued and held back, and really
disappoints in doing so.
"Thousand
Mile Wish" and "One Thing" are examples of either experimental
failures which don't really fit the mood of the CD, or uninspired
acoustical filler tracks that were haphazardly thrown in.
They have no identity, feel lifeless, and feel out of place.
In spite of this, "Stay in Shadow", "Good Times", and "Other
Light" save the album from being a complete generic failure,
as they pull their influence from back when Finger Eleven
were unafraid to use their originality and talent, and bring
catchy joy to your ears for a few minutes out of the CD.
Unfortunately,
this release has shown that Finger Eleven have become industry
molded, and have become a shadow of their former selves in
the process. Is mainstream popularity worth compromising your
integrity for? Is becoming an easily forgotten, dime a dozen
band something to look forward to? Unless Finger Eleven decides
to truly show what they are capable of again, I'm afraid they
may turn out to be just another rock band.
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