NICKELBACK: Get Rollin' (GRUNGE): review / opinion to read on Music Waves

In the world of Rock, there are bands that have built their reputation on a formula to which they rarely bring new elements. If some see a lack of risk-taking, most fans appreciate this reassuring side. If the best example is perhaps AC/DC for hard rock, Nickelback is without a doubt the most obvious one for neo-grunge. The slight electro elements distilled in "Feed The Machine" were not enough to disfigure the identity of the Kroeger brothers' gang. While the Canadians decided to take charge of all the production of their new album in order to escape the pressures of their label, it took them five years to release a successor to the 2017 opus. Will this delay have had consequences on the quartet's trademark?

The answer is no! Big riffs, rocky vocals and catchy choruses are still the brands of the band and they are carried high by the deflagrations that are the single 'San Quentin' or the well named 'Vegas Bomb'. More groovy, 'Skinny Little Missy' loses nothing in power and flirts with party-rock, while 'High Time' keeps this festive spirit by integrating strong country rock touches. Here is a beginning of album that hits the bull's eye and that lets augur a delivery of high quality by integrating just the right amount of elements allowing to vary a little the approaches of Nickelback without moving away from it. The classic ballad 'Those Days' reassures the fans of the genre with its hyper formatted but still effective side.

The problem is that things quickly go wrong afterwards. Of course, Nickelback is used to be not stingy when it comes to sweet and melancholic tracks. However, they go a little far. Indeed, it is only a question of ballads and mid-tempi which finish by killing the beautiful dynamics which had been set up. No bad track of course, because the Kroeger brothers master perfectly the art of the moving song, but it remains annoying to have to hold on to a 'Standing In The Dark' to get a minimum of energy. For the rest, you have to be satisfied with a bewitching chorus here ('Tidal Wave') or beautiful melancholic harmonies there ('Steel Still Rusts').

In spite of the global quality of its compositions and a great start, "Get Rollin'" remains a relative disappointment as it loses its energy and its dynamism as it progresses. Nickelback will have to get their act together for their next album if they don't want to end up in going in circle. - Official website

NICKELBACK

GET ROLLIN'

AUTRE LABEL

GRUNGE