Review Summary: Oh boy, sex songs!
For all that I mock Nickelback or criticize their music, I feel I must admit that I had never actually sat down and listened to any of Nickelback’s albums start to finish before I wrote this review. I’d made assumptions based on unavoidable singles like “Rockstar” or “Far Away,” and thus in all fairness never had a firm base to back up my statements, yet I’m confident in saying I’m not the only one guilty of this crime-it certainly seems to be a common one. But about a week ago I decided to change that. I picked a CD and told myself I would sit down and listen to it from start to finish. I would try to approach the album-
Dark Horse-with the most open and positive mind I could conjure up-to try and write a balanced and unbiased review. Sure-I may have absolutely hated what I had heard so far of Nickelback’s work-but if I could try to look at it from the other side, maybe I could see what other people see in this band rather than just mock them for a few paragraphs.
Now I’m sure we’re all familiar with people’s problems with Nickelback-it’s not as if anybody has any hesitation in voicing their opinions about this infamous Canadian quartet, and the same criticisms seem to pop up over and over again, wherever the band or their songs go. You know the ones I mean-their instrumentation is too simple, they’re too boring, they’re too unoriginal, they’re too mainstream, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. I won’t dwell on these subjects, because I’m sure you’ve heard them all before-and besides, having listened to
Dark Horse in its entirety, I can assure you that none of these are false or unjustified accusations.
Sticking to issues more particular to this album, the most glaring problem seems to lurk within the lyrics. Nickelback, let me make this perfectly clear; Sex-themed lyrics are no longer shocking, and never were impressive. Neither are lyrics about being an alcoholic prick who’s drunk on fame and thinks he owns the world. The point I’m trying to get at, Chad, is that neither you nor your stupid sexual fantasies make good lyrical content or are in any way impressive. So please, to save any morsel of dignity you may have left, don’t make
anybody sit through that again. On a similar note, even when the lyrics dare stray away from the recurring theme of sex, alcohol and unnecessary swearing, they still manage to sound downright stupid. Take, for example, a line from first track “Something in Your Mouth,” which reads
“Better than the scent of every flower in the desert.” Because, as we all know, deserts are famous for their plentiful flowers and vegetation. I mean, seriously Nickelback?
Sure, all the old problems exist here too. Nickelback’s song-writing strategy hasn’t changed at all; a catchy chorus and a decent enough riff to keep the song in someone’s head long enough for them to end up buying the album is all the band seems to find important. The ballads are same as always, with the usual emotional lyrics to lure in the whole “heartbroken-13-year-old” crowd. I guess the instrumentation does become at least half-way decent on occasion but for the most part it’s the same as usual; simple guitar riffs to carry the song, that assist the vocals in drowning out the rhythm section to an extent that it is often barely audible. But don’t worry-you aren’t exactly missing out on much.
Then again, the whole point of this review was to try and be positive and see what other people see in this band. I realize I’ve done the exact opposite so far, but, to an extent, I
do get why people listen to Nickelback. They are aimed precisely and decidedly at mainstream audiences. And what do mainstream audiences want? They want a catchy chorus. They want a catchy riff. They want ballads they feel they can relate to. And while this may be everything that I just criticized the band for, and certainly not what I look for in an artist, it’s also the exact same thing that made Nickelback huge. Taking this into account, this album does what it’s meant to do-worm it’s way into people’s heads and lodge itself there stubbornly until the radio airplay eventually kills it and the next release is already just around the corner. Like it or not, you have to ask yourself; Is this band about originality? No. Is this band about impressing us with amazing instrumentation? No. Is this band about being fantastic, original songwriters? No. It’s about everything I mentioned earlier-appealing to the radio and those who listen to it. Call it laziness if you like, call it greed if you want-at the end of the day, Nickelback remains one of the, if not the, most popular modern rock bands around, and I guess for now we’ll just have to learn to live with it.
Or turn off the radio.
