Here we have a hard rock band - with one foot solidly in hip-hop, no less - that posits the idea that relationships are "no good when all that's left is the sex" and spends one entire song thanking those who helped it, even politely apologizing to anyone it forgot. Clearly, we're not in Spinal Tap anymore. But don't let the occasional P.C. tenor of Significant Other fool you; Limp Bizkit still packs a wallop, from the phat beats to Wes Borland's leaden guitar attack to DJ Lethal's smoothly executed scratches to frontman Fred Durst's facile raps and wide array of voices, often lamenting lost loves (he broke up with a longtime girlfriend while writing these songs), personal betrayals, and the inescapable dark side of fame and fortune.
Despite the opening, anti-KISS promise of "you wanted the worst, you got the worst," on Significant Other the Jacksonville, Fla., quintet - along with co-producer Terry Date - achieves the rare feat of crafting 13 songs (plus an intro, an outro, and a couple of hidden tracks) that each offers a different sonic adventure, with an even greater sense of dynamics than on its cocky but slight platinum-plus 1997 debut, Three Dollar Bill, Y'All$.
"Just Like This" kicks things off in Jeep-beat bounce mode, while "Re-Arranged" and "Nookie" explore areas of trippy, groove-y ambience. "Break Stuff" and "Show Me What You Got" offer plenty of metallic crank, while parts of "A Lesson Learned" dip into psychedelic blues. There's a little help from their friends, too. The Wu-Tang Clan's Method Man trades verbal licks with Durst on "N 2gether Now," which was produced by Gang Starr's DJ premier. And Stone Temple Pilots' Scott Weiland and Korn frontman Jonathan Davis show up on the riff-rocking "Nobody Like You," an industrial-strength rocker that weaves their voices together in a mutual broodfest. But Limp Bizkit is the star of this sophomore joint, proving most definitely that the band is in the house, in the pocket, and at the top of the heap of rock's rapidly overcrowding turntable/guitar alliance.