Nickelback - Here & Now

Lucky number seven is what Nickelback is hoping for with their seventh album release. The trouble with Nickelback and the album format as they include a large amount of filler material. This is not untrue on Here & Now which has even more filler that their previous album Dark Horse. The bands dual single release of "Bottoms Up!" to rock radio and "When We Stand Together" to pop radio is not dissimilar to the dual release from Dark Horse albeit this time not as good. Both songs are decent tunes and "Bottoms Up!" is a solid hard rock song where as the pop single while good fizzles for me.

The bands production sound is freaking huge and the monstrous guitar textures is akin to the mighty Def Leppard in the amount of layers. The album runs really high quality songs for the first four tracks which rival nearly all their previous albums but doesn't compare to the first two tracks from Dark Horse. As the album continues forward though the quality does take a nose dive into mediocrity at times. While being a fun song and enjoyable a slight decline starts with "Gotta Get Me Some" the song isn't bad it falls a little short is all. Then the big power ballad "Lullaby" sucks the life out of me with the over the top production and the contrived chorus not to mention the overdone drums that are too bloody big for the song and distorts the melody burring the piano as well as the bass is so fake sounding with the extra punch from Sony Soundforge's compression and other effects. The song is just too much even for a hard rock power ballad. I think being so overproduced the song loses too much, I think there might have been a good song in there if it was only piano, guitar and percussion. A very stripped back organic sound wouldn't have made it seem so cheesy.

Chad takes a shot at being something more than cock rock with "Kiss It Goodbye" but in the end it's still cock rock meets hair metal. I haven't made a decision if I actually like this song. It will take a few listens before that will come down but upon the first few runs past I'm leaning towards immature ego trying to sound smart which lets be honest we don't want Nickelback to be at all. The oh so typical modern rock radio hit "Trying Not To Love You" which is a complete piece of shit which will sell huge when the single fairy sprinkles it all over radio, I just hate these songs from the modern rock format. Most if not all of them are so bloody dull and boring all I find is a snooze fest when I hear them. Not to mention so faceless lacking originality which you can insert whomever you like because they can all do the song without any noticeable difference. Followed by the same song albeit a little better but still faceless drivel.

Chad's gigantic creative dump "Everything I Wanna Do" is next and if you can get to the skip button fast enough please take the opportunity to save the 3:26 of your life for a better song. One of the worst songs this band has recorded since their horrid debut Curb. The album closes with what is a song that has become a formula for the band and probably the best song on the album "Don't Ever Let It End". They seem to always put something a little more spirited and fun in the final track spot and this song, if only stripped back a little more would have been as good as "Rock Star" or "This Afternoon". Still a good song and one I hope that is included in their live set, actually I'd love to design their live set and eliminate most of the shite power ballads that seems to make them so freaking popular outside of Detroit Shit City at least. A decent record, flawed and sometimes overproduced to nausea but not a disappointing record like one of Canada's other great bands Hedley.