There have always been vague underpinnings of
funk in
Finger Eleven's rhythms, but it still comes as a bit of a shock that
"Paralyzer," the opening track of their fourth album,
Them vs. You vs. Me, finds the Canadian quintet embracing the full-on
disco-
rock that started to emerge when they released their last album in 2003. Four years later, this sound isn't exactly passe -- plenty of bands are still pushing it -- but it's not exactly fresh either, except within the context of
Finger Eleven, where it does add some welcome new dimension to their traditional '90s
alt-rock sound. Sure, it's hard not to see it as a little bit of a desperate bid for relevancy, but even if the move comes across as calculated, the occasional dash of
disco-
rock gives
Them vs. You vs. Me a little bit of needed new hue to a collection of otherwise colorless but capable by-the-book
alt-rock, pitched partway between
Stone Temple Pilots and
Matchbox Twenty.
Finger Eleven are pros, so they can deliver
Oasis-styled anti-love songs like
"I'll Keep Your Memory Vague" or
Live-inspired anthemic
ballads like
"Change the World" with as much workmanship as their grungy rockers, but they need something to stand apart from the pack -- and the addition of awkward
funk rhythms to the likes of
"Lost My Way" nearly accomplishes that. So, the variety of rhythms, along with the increasing emphasis on acoustic-based power
ballads, gives
Them vs. You vs. Me the greatest musical variety of any
Finger Eleven record, but they remain boxed in by their good intentions: they remain a group that's too polite too dislike but too well-mannered to remember. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
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