This is the Gin Blossoms debut album and it is the only one I own. The Gin Blossoms are my uncles favorite band and this is the first music I ever remember listening to. After cleaning out our basement I found this album and listened to it again, I was shocked by how great it was. The Gin Blossoms are a layed back alt/rock or alt/pop band. All of there songs are catchy, fun and whenever I listen to this album I always feel in a good mood. The Gin Blossoms don't make happy music but when you listen to them you feel like your back in the early 90's. The first time I listened to this I was hooked, it doesn't have to grow on you.
Members - Robin Wilson - Vocals, Acoustic Guitar
Jesse Valenzuela - Guitars, Vocals, Mandolin
Phillip Rhodes - Drums
Bill Leen - Bass
Doug Hopkins - Guitars
The Gin Blossoms are an alt/rock/pop band that came onto the scene in 1992 with there debut album "New Miserable Expierience." Although 1992 was around the grunge era, Gin Blossoms are not grunge. They have a very chill out feel on most of these songs. There are no raging guitars or punk lines, this is just a mellow, feel-good album. Although most of these songs are really catchy and mellow, most of them sound the same. Acoustic guitars dominate most of the album and make these songs more fun to sing along to. I'm not saying that the acoustic guitars are amazing, I'm just saying that they decent and play a big role on this album. The good part about this album is that I can listen to it anytime, I don't have to be in a certain mood because this album works for any situation. For those who are wondering if this is a country album, it definately is not. When I was younger I always thought that the Gin Blossoms were country, but they are not. This album is great if you want catchy, mellow pop/rock songs.
The Gin Blossoms can be quite inventive with there use of instruments. The acoustic guitar is the definately the most noticable. Gin Blossoms mix things up with adding an accordian to "Cajun Song" and the piano to "Until I Fall Away" and "Pieces of the Night." Another interesting instrument used is the mandolin, it actually appears in a lot of the tracks. Although the Gin Blossoms incorporate different instruments into there music it is still fairly simple and just catchy. There is nothing mindblowing about this album but it is just good, fun, catchy music. Gin Blossoms music can be mellow, reflective, poignant, and soothing. This album is far from depressing, but it isn't joyful either. Basically all of these songs have a great deal of emotion and there is no filler. Although a lot of these songs can be repetive they are not boring. Gin Blossoms are your typical write catchy songs with great hooks band, but the problem is that they don't mix things up, and that kills the album. Even though these songs sound the same in most cases it doesn't ruin the whole album because if you just kick back and relax you will be able to enjoy this.
The lyrics are another high point to this album. All of these songs have great emotion and they all have respectable lyrics. Once again the lyrics won't amaze but they won't dissapoint. This is one of the rare cases that a band can write extremely catchy songs, and still have great songwriting and lyrics. The lyrics are the best on songs like "Allison Road", "29", "Lost Horizons" and "Hey Jealousy." The lyrics are basically just depressing and you can tell that there is emotion in all of these songs. The Gin Blossoms can mix catchy hooks, with great lyrics, and emotion. Some people I know consider Gin Blossoms a folk/rock band, but I personally think that is just ridiculous. Even though the acoustic guitar dominates most of these songs it doesn't mean that it is country or folk rock. The Gin Blossoms are a very mellow band that you can just chill out to. When you listen to this album it just takes you back in time, and makes you feel like it was 1992 again.
Overall this is a great pop/rock, or alt/rock album. It is great in almost every aspect, except for the fact that all of these songs sound similar which is what kills the album from being a classic. I would definately classify Gin Blossoms as summer music. This music is good for rolling down the windows when your driving in 70 degree weather. "New Miserable Expierience" is an excellent album if you want something to kick back to and sing along to. I am a huge fan of punk music and I still think this is this would be a solid album even if you only like punk music. Even though the Gin Blossoms are far from a punk band, these songs have a hint of punk to them. With acoustic guitars, mellow vocals and a few guitar solos here and there this is a solid album for those who like rock music.
Overall rating 3.5/5
Pros :
Great catchy rock music
Awesome summer music
No filler, and a lot of emotion in every song
lyrics
Cons :
Most of these songs sound very similar
Sometimes the music gets boring
Recomended Tracks -
"Hey Jealousy"
"Cajun Song"
"Allison Road"
