Everclear's new release does not measure up

By Meg Walsh

Published Sept. 12, 2006

When I heard Everclear was back in the studio, I was taken back to my days at Nipher Middle School, walking the halls with an attitude problem and a frowny face on my T-shirt.

My headphones blasted the voice of Art Alexakis, my pre-teen obsession. Had I known the effects of "pumping it to 11" back then, I would have turned down his wonderful crooning. I discovered Everclear when I saw the video for "I Will Buy You a New Life" on MTV (back when MTV did that sort of thing). So Much for the Afterglow was one of the first CDs I ever purchased, and every allowance after that was spent on completing my Everclear collection.

Now Everclear is back, with new members and a new album, Welcome to the Drama Club.

Many fans have criticized the work Everclear has done in the new millennium. Songs From An American Movie, Vol. 1: Learning How To Smile gave fans the radio-friendly version of the band. As a child, I didn't understand a lot of the topics of the band's music, such as amphetamines, life in poverty or girls forced into stripping or prostitution.

The second in the two-volume series, Good Time for a Bad Attitude, was more of the same: watered down, made for the mainstream.

With the band's newest release, fans will find that only Alexakis remains. Though the band, now with five members, has changed, the new album is again more of the same.

Everclear songs have always had a relaxed tempo, a laid-back feel and an almost West Coast feeling. This album keeps with the tradition. The lyrics are still about the staple topics: love, sex and family. Besides the line "The only thing I want to do is kiss you when I/am coming deep inside of you" on "Portland Rain," the album is much more kid-appropriate. In fact, Art's daughter Annabella sings on three songs, including "Portland Rain."

So has Art softened in his old age? Or is the band selling out, going for a friendlier sound? The lyrics have changed from life on the street to the tamer life of suburbia.

Maybe Alexakis is trying to distance himself from his days of chemical dependency, or maybe fatherhood has forced him to. The songs lack a rawness Everclear used to possess.

The track "Shine" is a cliché song about letting your true self show. The single off the album, "Hater," is Alexakis saying, "Don't be mean to me!" in very general terms, which is borderline pathetic for a man who used to write with such detail and emotion.

Instead of returning to the glory days of Sparkle and Fade and So Much For the Afterglow, Everclear has moved even further away. The band of my youth has fizzled out with this new release into mundane and tired songwriting.

Artist: Everclear
Album: Welcome to the Drama Club
Genre: Alternative
Record Label: Eleven Seven Music
Release Date: Sept. 12
Most Listenworthy Track: 'Your Arizona Room'
Reviewer's Rating: 2.5 out of 5Ms