311 Uplifter Review

Hey all,

My first album review of the summer! 311 released Uplifter yesterday and I must say I was very nervous for this release with good reason, Bob Rock produced it. You all know how I feel about that asshole. So that being said, I knew a couple of things going in. I knew the album would sound great, quality wise, I knew there would be a really big sound behind the hooks and probably some cheesy vocals. Well sure enough all those things are on this record. However, there are some things I didnt know or expect. I didnt know what the overall feel of the album was going to be. It turns out to be a lot like Transistor which has become one of my favorites in their collection. The downside is Rock's influence on this, there are a LOT of cheese vocals. I can name two specific tracks: Never Ending Summer and Mix It Up, the vocals are really hammed up on these tracks. The real shame is that these tracks are really good its just that the lame vocal melodies inhibit what could be a beautiful song. Not that I blame all of it on Rock, Nick Hexum im sure contributed to this as well. All in all Uplifter is an big improvement over the past two records which were beginning to have a definite stale sound to them, I chalk this up to working with Saint over and over. I was afraid that 311 had begun sticking to the same sound as a lot of good bands do with age. Hatebreed, Bad Religion and Aerosmith im looking at you! Well looking forward to a great summer filled with new tunes and shows to report on.