So, evidently, Jane\u2019s Addiction plans to start each decade with a new album. 1991\u2019s Ritual De Lo Habitual<\/i>, 2003\u2019s Strays <\/i>and now 2011\u2019s The Great Escape Artist<\/i>. And you thought the length of time between U2 releases was long.<\/p>\n
The lineup is the same as before sans bassist Eric Avery, and he is missed. Newcomer Dave Sitek (TV On The Radio) takes over on bass duties and gets writing credit on seven of the 10 songs. Former Guns \u2018N\u2019 Roses bassist Duff McKagan helped write\/play on the other three.<\/p>\n
As to the sound…well, this band not only helped define the alternative scene but launched one of the era\u2019s big musical tours (Lollapalooza, for those under 20), so it would be assumed that they would attempt to recapture the glory days, as many other reformed \u201890s bands have done. However, this is not exactly the case, as the album\u2019s title makes clear; gone is the weirdness, provocation, and overblown majesty of Nothing\u2019s Shocking<\/i>. The new disc is more metal, more layered and modern. Singer Perry Farrell cited Muse and Radiohead as inspirations for the sound, and it shows.<\/p>\n
Part of the appeal of older Jane\u2019s songs is the rhythm section, the power of Stephen Perkins and Avery\u2019s fat, gothic basslines, but for the most part that aspect of the music is relegated to the background. Dave Navarro is the star, his flurry of guitar tones and layers of sound driving the album more than Farrell\u2019s yelp, which has matured (along with his lyrics) in the last two decades.<\/p>\n
This approach means there is not much akin to those old epics like \u201cOcean Size,\u201d nor is there anything with the sort of insouciance as \u201cBeen Caught Stealing,\u201d but rather an evolution of those sounds. Songs like \u201cTwisted Tales\u201d and \u201cIrresistible Force (Met The Immovable Object)\u201d are appealing, moody pieces reminiscent of both U2 and Muse, while \u201cUnderground\u201d rides a good riff and a wash of sound to fine results. The songs are unmistakably Jane\u2019s Addiction, but bullshit-free and updated for the Obama age.<\/p>\n
The layers of sound are still present on several of the songs, but they don’t really create the epic feeling of a track like “Three Days,” where it all meant something. But longtime fans will find their band somewhere under those, just as they may find meaning in \u201cBroken People,\u201d a tune about the addicts of Los Angeles written with a mix of pity and detached observation. Lines like \u201cNo you can\u2019t help them out \/ They\u2019ll break you in two\u201d seem full of regret, as does all of the morning-after relationship song \u201cSplash A Little Water On It.\u201d Things wind down with the STP-esque grind of \u201cWords Right Out Of My Mouth,\u201d complete with guitar solo, and it leaves you wanting more.<\/p>\n
The truth is that The Great Escape Artist <\/i>has little in common with Nothing\u2019s Shocking<\/i>, and it\u2019s unfair to think that it would. Although a little overproduced and underwhelming when taken song by song, as a whole this is a good modern rock record, no more, no less. Hopefully it\u2019s not another 10 years before the next disc.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":31544,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[6050],"rating":[5615],"class_list":["post-43247","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-janes-addiction","rating-rating-b"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/43247","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\/45"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43247"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/43247\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31544"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43247"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=43247"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=43247"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}