The Oregonian; Album Review
by Marty Hughley March 7, 2003
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"Don't listen to the sound of all those people you know slowly falling apart and falling down now," Art Alexakis sings on a track from Everclear's new album. The chorus of "Science Fiction" offers a simple reassurance: ". . . you need to remember, life is always getting better." But then comes a subtle change in the last line, "Life is always getting better, for a while."
That barbed little Lennonesque turn doesn't negate the song's optimism, but it adds a shadow, the knowledge that just as we must hold on for the hope of change for the better, we can't forget the possibility of change for the worse.
Such turns from light to dark are a recurring pattern in Everclear's songs. The characters Alexakis creates try to fulfill their dreams as they struggle through emotional, economic and social obstacles. They traverse a cycle from resignation to defiance, hopefulness, perseverance and triumph, then back to difficulty and around again, with their writer's idealistic and realistic outlooks wrestling all the way.
The light at the end of the tunnel isn't always easy to find on Everclear's new "Slow Motion Daydream," due in stores Tuesday. Alexakis describes his subject broadly as American life, and that life has been in many ways more uncertain lately than in a long time. Despite the troubled subject matter, the emotional honesty and musical energy let good feelings win out.
"Slow Motion Daydream" counts as a strong recovery from Everclear's last album, the heavy but uninspired "Songs From an American Movie, Volume Two: Good Time for a Bad Attitude." It shares the ambitious streak that made "Songs From an American Movie, Volume One: Learning How To Smile" so good, but instead of stylistic variety, it aims to expand the scope and meaning of the classic Everclear sound.
The lead-off single, the comically catchy "Volvo Driving Soccer Mom," is the exception to the album's mostly serious tone. Which isn't to say this isn't fun to listen to. Alexakis on guitar and the rhythm team of bassist Craig Montoya and drummer Greg Eklund are in muscular, rocking form, especially on the first few tracks. Textural detail from keyboards (by Rami Jaffee of the Wallflowers) and strings (including an Aaron Meyer-led string quartet on "Science Fiction") broadens the sonic palette, yet the album never loses momentum.
Alexakis' political outspokenness roars out on the viciously rocking "Blackjack." Obviously it's a dig at U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft, referred to as "Scary John," and curtailments of civil liberties. For the most part, though, politics are a back story to the emotional travails of everyday people. There is cynicism ("How To Win Friends and Influence People"), escapism ("I Want To Die a Beautiful Death," "Sunshine") and disillusionment ("TV Show"). What's sure to hit hardest here in the Northwest is "Chrysanthemum," a tender, haunting reflection on the Ashley Pond/Miranda Gaddis murders. The song connects personal concerns to rueful musing on the state of the world. "All I got is pretty pink flowers on a chain-link fence/And I don't like what it means, because I know there is more to come," reflects Alexakis' fears about a cycle of abuse he feels society needs to address.
"New York Times," one of the finest songs Alexakis has written, gets its arms around post-Sept. 11 life: "I want to believe in a world that does not seem real when I read the New York Times."
