Review Summary: Good old Post-Grunge
Ok, fine, Post-Grunge isn't that much of a genre. Many bands sound similar and not many can offer you anything unique (Some of them do, mostly lesser-known ones). That doesn't mean that among the sea of unoriginality, there's nothing to listen to. If there's one thing Post-Grunge does best, is primitive, easy music that's just fun to listen to. There's nothing wrong with some catchy and simple music for entertainment. However, after you choose you want entertainment, you need to look at the right place. Many Post-Grunge bands may lose you midway through the album.
One Thing Remains is able to keep your attention all through the eleven tracks.
If you've heard Default's previous albums, The Fallout or Elocation, you might've noticed the band is a little sloppy. Sure, "Deny" or "Throw It All Away" were highlights of the said albums, but something in the band felt a little sloppy. Like they need to get themselves together. Well, people tend to complain artists get worse as years go by. On
One Thing Remains, Default feels alive. Not only the songs are just plain better - even if they were played in the style of The Fallout/Elocation, the album just packs a much harder punch. That's true considering some songs here are harder and faster like the title-track or "Hiding From The Sun".
As with regular Post-Grunge, there isn't a lot of ideas. "Beautiful Flower" is catchy but feels like it was already written. "Count On Me" is straight-up Nickelback. However, between 4-line hooks like that of "Found My Way Out", many songs actually seems to try to creat more interesting hooks, such as "I Can't Win" or the opening "All Is Forgiven". Plus, as I already mentioned, the title-track and "Hiding From The Sun" got a faster pace. The title-track, especially, is only two minutes and fifty seconds and can actually be a little confusing. However, the more creative appraoch only enchant the songs. In the end,
One Thing Remains is basically 11 radio-rock hits all together. It's a hell of a ride.
There is a little weakness on the album. First of all,
One Thing Remains is above-average Post-Grunge but nothing more than. It doesn't break enough ground to become more that, unlike Hot Sauce Johnson's first album. Second, Default isn't the band you listen to for guitar riffs. I don't think many people who listen to Default fall in love with their riffs. To Default's defense, the guitars aren't bad at all. They're actually pretty good and attract a little attention in the title-track and "I Can't Win". However,
One Thing Remains relies on its hooks. And it got the hooks, so I can't complain.
I still feel a little guilty giving this album such a high score, but I can't help it. I'm not going to resist music because it's "not cool enough" for some people. This is obviously not Beck, Faith No More or Rage Against The Machine. But for how long can you listen to the same thing? Music can serve many purposes. Entertainment is one of them. If you're looking for good entertainment,
One Thing Remains is the address. This album has more shelf-life than many other Post-Grunge albums. Too bad it didn't got Default more fame.
