I clearly remember the first time I heard Hinder. They had just released their debut album, Extreme Behaviour and were doing big business selling shitloads of records in the States. And I hated them. On that album they played some kind of mix of Sleaze and the early Nickelback-ish sound of neo Grunge and it felt like everything on that album were calculated just to get airplay. I might be wrong, but they felt like a phony band. So when they released Take It To The Limit a few of years back in 2008 they really caught me by surprise with an album full of killer rock ’n’ roll songs and heartfelt ballads. It was easily one of the best albums of 2008. Suddenly the expectations for the new album increased heavily. Would they be able to step up and follow up that album with something, at least, just as good or hopefully even better?
Oh yes, they did. Just as on the last album, all the neo Grunge influences are totally gone, but on here they have hardened the sound a great deal. The songs are still sleazy as a one dollar hooker, but this time the sound is not as commercial as on their previous albums. They have hired producer Kevin Churko (Ozzy Osbourne) so it’s understandable why this album is so heavy. Every damn song here are just amazingly good. Everything falls into place with the contrast of the very catchy melodies and choruses and the heavy production. Opener ”Two Sides Of Me” kicks off thunderous with a brilliant chorus that you just can’t ward off and the title track is a perfect first single. It summons the whole album in both melody and sound – heavy and catchy and it really should be a hit. ”Hey Ho” is also single material, big time. A bit funky, groovy and catchy. Should go down live really well. ”Striptease” is an angry song, but really catchy with a great lyric. A big kick in the butt to all the Britneys of the world. ”Waking Up The Devil” on the other hand, isn’t that direct as the other songs here, but it is a great song that is more based on heaviness than pure cathiness. Then there’s the ballads. Hinder writes fantastic ballads. But they write too many of them and that’s the only complaint I have for this album. Too many ballads. On the other hand, they’re all brilliant. ”The Life”, ”Red Tail Lights”,”Everybody’s Wrong”, “What Ya Gonna Do” and ”Put That Record On”. The latter is about their favourite rock songs and name drops a bunch of classic song titles. But four ballads out of ten songs is a bit of ballad overkill. I mean, they are a hard rock band. That’s why it’s a bit weird that they leave out killer songs like ”Good Life” (a rocker) and ”Bad Motherfucker” (a bluesy acoustic fun drunken song) when both of them would have fitted perfectly on here and not as a bonus for other markets. That said, Hinder might just have recorded the album of the year. If you don’t have it, get it. And if you don’t like it, you’re wrong.
Jon Wilmenius (10/10)
Tracklist:
1. 2 Sides Of Me
2. All American Nightmare
3. What Ya Gonna Do
4. Hey Ho
5. The Life
6. Waking Up The Devil
7. Red Tail Lights
8. Striptease
9. Everybody’s Wrong
10. Put That Record On
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