It’s a Superhero’s Welcome When You Finally Come Back Down

In a story I broke yesterday, this blog hit the big 5-0-0 and in the year and a half I’ve been doing music reviews there has seemed to be a resurgence of mid-nineties frat rock as in that time I have reviewed albums by Better Than Erza, Hootie and the Blowfish, Spin Doctors, Live, Oasis, and Blues Traveler as well another mainstay of the time Jewel (click the band’s name to go to my reviews). Well it hasn’t been that much of a resurgence because none of the bands seem to make much of a dent on the radio aside from a minor hit from BTE. Next up to try to revive their nineties dominance is the reunited Gin Blossoms with their new album Major Lodge Victory. Now if only we can get Toad the Wet Sprocket and the Refreshments back together and I’ll feel right back in high school.

Now of all the bands listed above, I’d put Gin Blossoms at the bottom of the list and really I’d only put them above Matchbox Twenty from that time period although I seemed to amass a few of their earlier albums. When it comes down to it they were able to write a bunch of good songs, but they were lacking that one great song that I could latch onto. I’m sure we can easily list our favorite song from the other bands but how many can do that for the Gin Blossoms? Didn’t think so. (For the record, I’d go with Until I Fall Away).

It’s much of the same on Major Lodge Victory with a bunch of good songs, but nothing great. But that’s actually an improvement above some of the over nineties refugee’s latest who struggled to even write a good song. Whereas those bands can’t seem to find their signature sound anymore, the Gin Blossoms’ latest album southern rock with a modern twist sounds like it was a lost album that could have been released between New Miserable Experience and Congratulations… I’m Sorry.

Half of the songs here could have found its way onto the radio a decade ago with their breezy, laid back rock much like Learning the Hard Way or Someday Soon, but unfortunately you have to have a reality show to get on the radio these days. End of the World is a decent mid-tempo song they mastered earlier in their career. The band even expands on that sound as Come on Hard has a cool overlapping vocal in the middle of the song. Super Girl is where the band expands the most with a chorus that can easily get stuck in your head.

That’s not to say the album is perfect. Heart Shaped Locket is kind of cheesy with it’s lyrics about Cleopatra and Sandra Dee. Let’s Play Two sounds like it was commissioned by a minor league team and the band didn’t bother to put much time on it because it was for a couple hundred fans in Duluth. Jet Black Sunrise is a slow song that just gets boring after a while; in fact the last couple songs just fall flat. But when it comes down to it, if you never like the Gin Blossoms, this won’t be the album to change your mind, but if you find yourself hoping for a third volume of I Love the 90’s so you can here Hal Sparks wax poetic on Hey Jealousy, then you should pick up this album. (Did VH1 really skip over them or am I having a brain freeze and forgot the segment?)

Song to Download - Super Girl

Major Lounge Victory gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.