Dark Horse
Having sold a combined 16 million copies of their last five albums, you could understand if a band such as Nickelback simply gave up the development of new ideas., but with the band’s latest release, they seems to be going backwards.
Beginning their career with the post-grunge stylings of Staind, Seether and all those other bands that haven’t had a mention since 2002, Alberta’s Nickelback reached the mainstream with their #1 North American single “How You Remind Me.”
With the release of their last album, 2005’s “All the Right Reasons”, the band seemingly scrapped their reputable sound in favour of stadium-filling “rock”, the variety popular with men who go by names such as Clyde, Elroy and Randy.
It’s clear the band is aware of its audience, catering directly towards them with their latest album “Dark Horse.”
The first element of the album worth a mention is the names of the songs themselves, including “S.E.X”, “Burn it to the Ground” and album opener “Something in Your Mouth”. Reading over the track listing gives you some idea of the content of the material, which, according to the album’s press release, are classed as “grinding rockers,” “fist-pumping anthems” and “soaring power ballads.”
On first listens, the music itself doesn’t seem too bad – decent steady drums and guitars with more than a touch of overdrive pedal.
Commit closer attention, however, and some absolutely mind-bending lyrics will reveal themselves.
“Well she ain’t no Cinderella when she’s gettin’ undressed/Cause she rocks it like the naughty wicked witch of the west,” croons frontman Chad Kroeger in “Shakin’ Hands.”
“Me and all my friends/We drink up, we fall down/And then we do it all again,” claims album closer “This Afternoon.”
Such poetry should come as no surprise from the band, that statement confirmed by Chad Kroeger himself earlier this year when he stated that this album was almost titled “Sex and Drinking.”
The main problem with this album is the uninspired subject matter tied with frankly inexcusable lyrics – a nightmare for feminists – that at some points pass the point of misogynistic clichés and simply end up being offensive.
“We’re kind of a people’s band, so we’ll leave it up to them whether they like it or not. We’re one of those bands people come back to, which is very cool,” says guitarist Ryan Peake in the album’s press release.
However, on the basis of this album, it wouldn’t be surprising if the band found themselves short of female fans next time around.
