If there’s ever been a band who could do their own line of “Hater’s Gonna Hate” shirts, then it’s Nickelback. The rock world’s punching bag for reasons I simply can’t fathom, they stick their fingers up at the naysayers and routinely sell skiploads of albums and fill out arenas. Is it just that rock and metal fans don’t like to see a band do well? Yet there’s nowhere near the vitriol for Slipknot, Bring Me The Horizon (who I personally don’t like), Avenged Sevenfold… for some reason the Canadians get the flack for a change.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a Nickelback mega-fan. I like the older material from when I had the time to really listen to albums and I’ve really enjoyed the live shows I’ve been to, barring one where the sound was bloody awful. I have found some of their more recent material a little cringe-inducing as some songs have the band seemingly forgetting that they’re pushing 50, which makes lyrics about trying to shag your girlfriend in the car before her dad catches you a little… just wrong. As an immature 48 year old, it’s perhaps a little contradictory of me to tell them to grow up / act their age, but… yeah.
However, Get Rollin’ kicks off in fine and gritty style with “San Quentin”. It’s about as heavy a song as Nickelback have ever done and while no classic it’s definitely not conjuring up images of someone older than me diddling a 25 year old in the back of an RV. “Skinny Little Missy” is borderline and still pushing it a bit on the titillation scale, but rescued by some Black Stone Cherry-esque chops.
One thing Nickelback do well is songs that kickstart memories. “Photograph” is cheese in lyric form, but it’s a hell of a tune. “Those Days”, as the title suggests, is one of those songs that’s designed to speak to any aging rock fan. It’s great. And then they go down the “let’s pretend we’re cool kids” road again with “High Time”. Seriously, do people still need to try and convince everyone they’re cool because they smoke dope? Yeah, it’s tries to pun things up a bit, talking about “rollin'” and “green grass”, but come on. A shame as it’s a great tune, but Chad… you were 48 last week, not 18. Your audience is mainly the same age.
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“Vegas Bomb” switches from dope to booze (I think), and it’s another proper pounding rock song with some decent riffs, but definitely not a highlight. Kicking things down a gear, the relaxed and floaty “Tidal Wave” may not be the heaviest song on the album, but it’s a breath of fresh air simply for being a bit different.
No surprises that “Does Heaven Even Know You’re Missing?” is a soppy ballad, but not a bad one as far as they go. Credit where it’s due, Nickelback know how to write something to appease the aging Texan couples in their audience. Not their best emotional number, though it’s a decent song to add to the surely forthcoming “Best Of… The Romantic Ones” compilation.
“Steel Still Rusts” is a decent rock song, Nicklback can and have done better, though “Horizon” really got my to tapping. Again, it’s another of their gentler numbers which managed to hit all the right spots. “Standing In The Dark” follows it well, with a rousing feel to it which will go down well with a live crowd.
“Just One More” is a hopefully appropriate track name for the final song on an album. And it’s… OK. A little repetitive, but it does sit well as the closer.
Overall, Get Rollin’ is a Nickelback album very much in the mould of their more recent releases. Existing fans will doubtless lap it up because it’s their kind of thing. The haters will continue to hate, the band will continue to sell out their tours and many people will pretend they’re not singing along to “Those Days” when it’s on the radio.
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Get Rollin’ is out on November 18th
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[…] don’t get the hate for Nickelback (not that I’m saying they’re perfect, as my review of Get Rollin’ will document) especially when they can put on a show like this and still have you wanting more at […]