After the smashing success of
\nNevermind<\/i> and the rise of grunge as the “next big thing”,
\none had to wonder what Kurt Cobain and Nirvana had planned for
\ntheir follow-up. They were in a position that not many bands would
\nwant to be in; how do you top an album that seemingly defines a
\ngeneration?<\/p>\n
After a side trip to the vaults with
\nIncesticide<\/i>, Cobain, Chris Novaselic and Dave Grohl came
\nback in 1993 with
\nIn Utero<\/i>, an album that left a lot of people scratching
\ntheir heads in confusion. Was this the same band that had ridden
\nthe crest of popularity just a few years ago with “Smells Like Teen
\nSpirit”? Had they abandoned their more pop-like sound in exchange
\nfor a noise that demanded you accept Nirvana on their own
\nterms?<\/p>\n
Fact is, six years after its release,
\nIn Utero<\/i> has its moments, but it is a major disappointment.
\nCobain and crew do indeed turn their back on a more approachable
\nsound (quite possibly generated by producer Butch Vig on
\nNevermind<\/i>), and instead turn to ambient noise and chords
\nthat don’t resolve, all under the knob-twirling of Steve
\nAlbini.<\/p>\n
The first single, “Heart-Shaped Box,” seemed to be the first
\nsign of confusion, both for Nirvana and its fans. A track that
\npartially embraced the “Smells Like Teen Spirit” approach (moving
\nfrom gentler tones to all-out madness), it didn’t seem like the
\nobvious next step for Nirvana. While the song is good, it caused
\nsome head-scratching. I remember thinking when I first heard this
\nsong, “What is Nirvana trying to prove?”<\/p>\n
Of the other songs I can remember hearing on the radio, “Rape
\nMe” (later re-named “Waif Me” thanks to some complaints) is the
\nmost “Teen Spirit” like, at least when it comes t the guitar riffs,
\nbut is a bit of a disappointment. “Dumb” and “All Apologies” reveal
\nthe softer side of Nirvana, and sadly remain the best material on
\nthis album. Too bad, ’cause I really wanted the harder stuff to
\nrock out more.<\/p>\n
\nIn Utero<\/i>‘s lead-off track, “Serve The Servants,” seems to
\nmock the success that Nirvana had – the first lyric, “Teenage angst
\nhas paid off well \/ Now I’m bored and old”, says more about the
\nimpending end of the band than one could have expected in 1993.
\nOther tracks, like “Scentless Apprentice” and “tourette’s”, almost
\nfeel like we’re listening to Cobain go through primal scream
\ntherapy. It’s not the most comfortable position to be in – and it
\nrepresents Nirvana’s thumbing their nose at commercialism.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately,
\nIn Utero<\/i> also represents a loss of focus musically for
\nNirvana. Tracks like “Very Ape,” “Frances Farmer Will Have Her
\nRevenge On Seattle” and “Milk It” all fail to get out of the
\nstarting blocks, leaving the listener feel cheated.<\/p>\n
In the end,
\nIn Utero<\/i> is a disappointing, confusing listen that may have
\nsome fair-weather music fans running for the exits. And no matter
\nhow many times I listen to this album over the years, I still can’t
\nhelp but feel cheated, as if Cobain withheld his best material and
\nput out some dreck just to see how many fans would stay with the
\nband. If only he had lived to create one more album (not including
\nthe two posthumous live releases); I honestly think that we would
\nhave seen a return to form for Nirvana. Instead,
\nIn Utero<\/i> is a last, blurred family photo.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":27870,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"artist":[5680],"rating":[5614],"class_list":["post-39258","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-nirvana","rating-rating-c-plus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/39258","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39258"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/39258\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27870"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39258"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39258"},{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=39258"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=39258"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}