Album Review: Third Eye Blind - Red Star [EP]
![Album Review: Third Eye Blind - <i>Red Star [EP]</i>](http://consequenceofsound.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/redstar.jpg)
Third Eye Blind has gone political. That’s right, frontman Stephan Jenkins has made good on his promise, and after a five year hiatus, has pulverized his writer’s block to bring us “Non-Dairy Creamer”, the first single off the digitally released Red Star EP that sounds off against George Bush, KFC, school shootings, and the war in Iraq. And that’s just in the first verse! Don’t even get him started on school shootings, homophobia, and terrorism. It’s a good thing we have artists like him that aren’t afraid to tell it like it is. Without his rallying cry, I probably would have voted for McCain. So what if the song was released after election day?
I know, I know. Every artist has the right to be express themselves yada, yada, yada. Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing wrong with musicians being political, especially in this day and age. But as much as I appreciate the show-don’t-tell methodology of albums like The Rising and American Idiot, the dire straits of the Bush administration have been responsible for some of the most bland, overly obvious, and just plain bad music of the past eight years. Toby Keith, Petey Pablo, NOFX - you could go all night with artists who have belched out repugnant filibuster slop inspired by their distaste with the current state of affairs. We all have our reasons to be angry, but blunt, lackluster sentiments like “the guy in the pulpit is a bigot and a liar” and “are you real to me, or are you non-dairy creamer?” wouldn’t even have sounded good four years ago.
The title track is more artful in it’s protest, detailing Jenkins’ infatuation with a woman during a cataclysmic rebellion, beautifully blending the personal with the political. Lines such as “the system shut us down, now we find each other in the underground” give the song a sense of revolutionary excitement. Fueled in equal parts by political passion and roaring hormones, the track sounds like a sister piece to Stars’ “Take Me To The Riot”.
To Jenkins’ further credit, he still knows how to craft a killer hook. For all of its lyrical shortcomings, “Non-Dairy Creamer” is the catchiest thing the band has written since “Never Let You Go”, built around their trademark fusion of treble laden fingerpicking, spacey synthesizers, and looped beats. Everything melts into the crunched guitars and sunny harmonies of the song’s climax, almost saving the middle school poetry lyrics with a graceful stroke of power pop. Lead guitarist Tony Fredianelli finally manages to fill the enormous shoes abandoned by former axe man Kevin Cadogan, illuminating the entire EP with the light-bending solos that were so sorely missed on the band’s last studio album, Out Of The Vein.
Rounding out the album is “Why Can’t You Be”, a live track that deals with a subject that has always been Third Eye Blind’s strong suit: sex, or in this case, unfulfilled sex as a woman asks her boyfriend why he can’t be more like her adjustable shower massager, “a sweet, reliable machine.” It’s an awkward, awful metaphor (almost as bad as comparing someone to non-dairy creamer) to start the song with, but thankfully Jenkins’ lyrics evolve to a more stream of consciousness flow that rattles off a dizzying, quirky array of what’s missing in the relationship. The song ends up being empathetic, but just barely, nearly losing us in the beginning with its cornball, hydromasturbatory talk. On a more positive sidenote, Jenkins’ pipes sound better than ever, seamlessly hitting every golden falsetto and playful whisper.
All three tracks are slated to appear on the band’s upcoming full length, Ursa Major in 2009. Sad to say, Jenkins has incessantly promised more politics from the next batch of songs. Let’s hope they’re more along the lines “Red Star” and not “Non-Dairy Creamer”. If he’s going to step up to the soapbox, he should do it with some subtlety.
Rating: 
Check Out:
“Non-Dairy Creamer”
ah what the heck.. it won’t post the video.
gotta point out this video.. it’s amazing.
These songs were made to be funny. All those other than Red Star at least. Its a bit of a change of pace from their normal stuff, but listen to it in that context and you’ll find that you’ll like it much better. Come on how funny is it that he is yelling “Young Gay Republicans!!!” over and over. I think its funny and I tend to side more towards Republicans.
Have to agree with you on all fronts. Like the melody but hate the lyrics of “Non-Dairy Creamer”, thoroughly enjoying “Red Star”, and am curious as to how a studio rendering of “Why Can’t You Be?” turns out.
I do agree with you that subtlety has never been a defining characteristic of the band. Songs like “Wounded,” “Jumper,” the tracks you mentioned, and many other Third Eye Blind songs are all heart-wrenching in their honesty. However, with the exception of parts of “Darwin,” none of their lyrics have ever been especially political. They’ve all been about relationships, substance abuse, failing friendships, troubled pasts, etc. In my eyes, if the band is going to tackle politics, they should take a different approach. “Non-Dairy Creamer” isn’t saying anything that hasn’t already been said by countless other musical artists, which would be justified if it was done in a fashion that wasn’t so cardboard. If Jenkins does want to go down the straightforward route when it comes to political lyrics, he should take a note from Rage Against The Machine and do his homework; fill his lyrics with specifics facts. Or (and to me, this makes more sense for Third Eye Blind), boost the song’s effectiveness by adding in the type of poetic imagery that made songs like “God Of Wine” and “The Red Summer Sun” so memorable. Keep in mind that this is just the opinion of one music writer, but personally, I’d like to see Third Eye Blind stick to what they do best, or alter their craft if they want to expand their subject matter. Happy Holidays and thanks for reading.
I think that if you’ve ever listened extensively you’d find subtlety is not, nor has ever been, a facet of Third Eye Blind, with tracks like “Faster,” (She had the nerve to say I want to fuck that boy so badly,) and especially “Slow Motion,” I could basically quote the whole song, “Deep Inside You,” “Blinded,” (And I want to stay right here and go down on you for an hour.) One of the amazing things about Third Eye Blind is there blunt and sometimes awkward statements, it’s a trademark to their music which does its best to explain real life.
Dec 1st, 2008 at 1:54 pm
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