On the first six STP albums, the acoustic songs were always a welcome respite from the harder-edged rock, often becoming fan favorites and\/or commercial successes. Pausing the electricity for \u201cCreep,\u201d \u201cPretty Penny,\u201d \u201cSour Girl,\u201d \u201cWonderful,\u201d or \u201cLady Picture Show\u201d showed dimension in the band\u2019s songwriting and endeared them to fans.<\/p>\n
But a whole album\u2019s worth of those tracks never seemed like a possibility; at least, not until 2019, when the instrumental core of STP and new singer Jeff Gutt (on his second album) announced their eighth album would be all acoustic. This was something of a letdown to fans, and although Perdida <\/i>has its moments, it\u2019s far from the first or sixth album an STP fan will grab when they want to hear the band.<\/p>\n
However, this sounds like the album the band needed <\/i>to make at this time in their lives. The guys have a lot on their minds with the twin losses of lead singers Scott Weiland and Chester Bennington in rapid succession; in fact, the album\u2019s title is Spanish for loss, and that theme winds through all 10 songs here, often in blunt yet heartfelt lyrics. It\u2019s an album as gray and contemplative as the cover art.<\/p>\n
Because the album is so personal and monotone, there aren\u2019t many hooks or memorable riffs, with the songs instead settling into midtempo shuffles. It\u2019s not a depressing album, because the band finds hope in the loss, and accepts that it\u2019s okay to be sad. But it also wears thin over the course of the album, to the point where nothing really stands out. Probably the best of the bunch is \u201cThree Wishes.\u201d It draws on the same guitar tone as \u201cPretty Penny\u201d and features some nimble bass runs from Robert DeLeo as well as a brief electric guitar solo. <\/p>\n
The flamenco-inspired title track is also pretty good, showcasing a side of the band only hinted at in previous tracks like \u201cAtlanta,\u201d and it would have sounded good with Weiland singing it. Gutt remains an able imitation, sounding pretty close to Weiland without imitating him, but without standing out as a unique voice either. The short instrumental \u201cI Once Sat At Your Table\u201d is worth noting as well.<\/p>\n
About the only surprise on these 10 tracks is the late \u201870s-inspired \u201cYears,\u201d in which Robert DeLeo gets his first vocal showcase, and it\u2019s surprising why he hasn\u2019t taken lead vocal duties prior on the basis of this performance. He has the sort of breathy voice that can morph into a high tenor, in service of a languid but compelling track that reminded me of mid-period Fleetwood Mac (before Stevie Nicks joined up).<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, the second half of the album takes a big dip; the vaguely Eastern European-inspired \u201cMiles Away\u201d tries to be interesting but drags on too long, \u201cShe\u2019s My Queen\u201d is annoying and \u201cYou Found Yourself While Losing Your Heart\u201d is both dull and features the most Hallmark Channel movie-worthy title of the band\u2019s career. The closing \u201cSunburst\u201d also drags a bit, but pushes Eric Kretz\u2019s drums to the forefront, which is the right call.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s the thing: I can\u2019t see many of these songs being a beloved part of the band\u2019s stage show. I suspect they may do an acoustic showcase in the middle of the concert, kind of like Zeppelin used to do in 1975. Again, this is a personal album that shows a different side of the band while letting them work through some hurt, which gives Perdida <\/i>depth and meaning, even if it\u2019s not an album you will need to hear all that often. Sometimes, art means more to its creators than to its audience.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":33991,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[6457],"rating":[5612],"class_list":["post-45819","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-stone-temple-pilots","rating-rating-b-minus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/45819","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=45819"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/45819\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33991"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45819"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=45819"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=45819"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}