Semi-charmed careers: 5 utterly unnecessary alt-rock comebacks
Does the world really need another Vertical Horizon album?
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As with every era in popular music, the '90s spawned numerous bands whose fans far outnumbered their receptive critics, especially among ever-tolerant (and/or clueless) high-schoolers. But high-school fandom doesn't always translate to lifelong devotion, and most acts call it a day after falling behind. Others, however, never know how to quit while they're ahead: Not content to be zeitgeist champions, they soldier on to unlikely "career band" status long after most people have stopped paying attention. One of those bands is Vertical Horizon, which supports its first album in six years Burning The Days with a show Tuesday at The Rave/Eagles Ballroom. In advance of the show, The A.V. Club presents a list of five other '90s also-rans who chose to keep running.
The band: Sugar Ray
Notable hit(s): "Fly," "Every Morning," "When It's Over," "Mean Machine"
Comeback single: "Boardwalk"
How it works: In thrall to the combination of beach guitars and a bleached-out hip-hop beat, Mark McGrath's Orange County party collective evolved from the semi-punk roots of "Mean Machine" to triple-platinum status with 1999's 14:59. Surrounded by excessively dour doom-and-gloom on the alt-radio station, Sugar Ray only indulged the lightest sounds, which seemed kind of admirable. The band's comeback album is the unfortunately named Music For Cougars, and its first single, "Boardwalk," subs out the light guitars for some over-emphatic synths and a weird, hollow void where the strumming would normally go. For a band used to taking it easy, it's oddly strained. The song's unavoidable images—wizened band members searching out new "summer things" on the beach, acting exactly the same as a decade ago—go down a little easier than you might expect. It doesn't hurt that McGrath is still in shockingly good shape.
The band: Third Eye Blind
Notable hit(s): "Semi-Charmed Life," "How's It Going To Be," "Jumper," "Never Let You Go"
Comeback single: "Don't Believe A Word"
How it works: Third Eye Blind is best known for the pop-punky "Semi-Charmed Life"—the bane of nostalgic dance parties everywhere, along with Blink-182's "What's My Age Again"—and a string of unremarkable post-grunge ballads. To its credit, new single "Don't Believe A Word" is as catchy and upbeat as "Semi-Charmed Life"; it's a charmingly anachronistic throwback to the days of '90s alt-rock radio, as if Third Eye Blind weren't remotely concerned about learning from the past decade. It's also the band's point of entry into the world of political "commentary," offering the line "America give me back my keys." It also contains the lyric "You fucking whore I'll kill you," so it's unlikely that frontman Stephan Jenkins will find himself on MSNBC alongside Janeane Garofolo anytime soon.
The band: Our Lady Peace
Notable hit(s): "Superman's Dead," "4 A.M.," "Thief," "One Man Army"
Comeback single: "All You Did Was Save My Life"
How it works: Faceless Canadian rock act (and spiritual predecessor to Nickelback) Our Lady Peace has scored more hit singles than any band on this list, possibly because no one could tell any of them apart: To paraphrase Pauline Kael on Shoah, they all collapse into one anonymous, long, slow moan. "All You Did Was Save My Life" is as emo as its title, with the overwrought opening lines "You looked at me as you walked in the room / like the Red Sea you split me open." It's a little punchier and more upbeat than usual for these guys—the song's title recalls The Fray, and that's not so far off—which makes it preferable to the band's first decade. Our Lady Peace is the only band on this list that appears willing to stretch a bit to conform to developments in the past decade (even if that just means the gang watched MTV for a few minutes).
The band: Sister Hazel
Notable hit(s): "All For You"
Comeback single: "Take A Bow"
How it works: Sister Hazel's "All For You" was a minor hit that predicted the direction taken by mildly jammy groups like O.A.R.—mostly in terms of figuring out that steady touring, obvious three-part vocal harmonies, and the ability to noodle in stripped-down, acoustic format could promise a loyal following. The harmonies and acoustic jams weren't exactly special, but they signified "musicianship" in a different, seemingly more organic way than the other bands on this list. A decade later, nothing's changed but Sister Hazel's collective weight: The cover of the group's recent Release unwisely shows the five members in a glowering line-up, stolid and pudgy. And alas, "Take A Bow" is just as substanceless as "All For You," with a little whininess that won't win any arguments.
The band: Marcy Playground
Notable hit(s): "Sex And Candy"
Comeback single: "Blackbird"
How it works: Marcy Playground's laconic "Sex And Candy" is one of the most pleasantly anomalous late '90s leftovers; it sounds a little like an ominously becalmed Pearl Jam, but it's impressively spare material for a radio hit. The band hit a commercial wall immediately thereafter, and its latest album (number four, no less) is reduced to Daniel "Bad Day" Powter for a guest. "Blackbird" doesn't attempt to live up to its titular Beatles allusion, just the kind of watery grunge the band managed to duck the first time around. "I promise you I won't fly away" barely qualifies as a metaphor; they might as well have called it "Pigeon."
