Review Summary: An unfortunately overlooked alternative classic.
If you were to ask a group of people their favorite alternative bands from the 90's, you would likely get varied answers. Anything from Nirvana to R.E.M. would hardly be surprising, but there is one oft forgotten group you would probably not hear much of. Everclear's trademark blend of pop and grunge may have produced some fairly popular singles, but unfortunately they are not remembered today as well as they should be.
Perhaps the pinnacle of Everclear's career,
So Much For The Afterglow proves today to be a timeless classic. Featuring infectious choruses that will having you singing along by the second listen and catchy guitar work that will be in your head for days, it takes Everclear's sound and perfects it. There is little to no filler, and Art's very literal songwriting is at its peak.
The title track opener starts up the album on a high note, being one of the highest quality tracks. Although starting slow, things immediately kick off once the guitar comes crashing in. According to Art, "This is a song about Susan / This is a song about the girl next door". It's about a relationship that isn't going anywhere ("We never talk about the future/ We never talk about the past anymore"), but despite this is a very upbeat song that will have the listener tapping their foot to the fun beat.
One of the strong points of Everclear has always been Art Alexakis' songwriting abilities. It becomes apparent that he wrote many of the songs off this album based on personal experiences, giving the tracks a very personal touch. A great example of Art's songwriting is track six, "Father of Mine", which is evidently about his father who left him at a young age. The lyrics to most of Everclear's work in general forgo the often pretentious songwriting of other bands (Nirvana, I'm looking at you) that can be practically impossible to understand without taking time to ponder the symbolism and confusing metaphors. With lyrics like "Father of mine/Tell me how do you sleep/With the children you abandoned/And the wife I saw you beat", it doesn't take a genius to understand what Art is saying.
Everclear keeps
So Much For The Afterglow from becoming monotonous with a brief vintage-sounding intro to "Normal Like You" ("Ataraxia"), and an instrumental ("Distorto de Melodica"). This prevents the admittedly similar sounding songs from running together, and keep the album from becoming dull. Sure, they could have gone without them, but would
Afterglow be the same without "Distorto"'s surprisingly heavy guitar work? I think not.
In conclusion,
So Much For The Afterglow is a must-have for any serious 90's alternative fan. Art's trademark songwriting is at its peak, and Everclear's successful merge of pop and grunge is at its best on this album.
Recommended Tracks:
So Much For The Afterglow
Father of Mine
Distorto de Melodica
Amphetamine
