Finger Eleven. Widely respected Canadian rock band, singles that have done well, songs on movie, video game and anime soundtracks, and they even managed to put words to Kane’s theme song. They’ve done very well for themselves, considering they started their musical life as the Rainbow Butt Monkeys. Them vs. You vs. Me, their fourth US release, shows that Finger Eleven has grown as a band, but it also shows that’s not always a good thing.
In case you’ve somehow managed to miss it, there is one major standout track on Them vs. You vs. Me: “Paralyzerâ€. A catchy dance-rock track that puts the varied talents of the band to good use, “Paralyzer†is easily the song of the album, and it’s a fun, enjoyable track all around. It’s not the only good track on the album though, thankfully. Tracks like “Falling On†and and “Change the World†are solid, emotionally strong tracks that keep the CD interesting, and while there’s nothing that quite matches the strength of “Paralyzerâ€, other songs work nearly as well.
Unfortunately, a large portion of the disc comes across as talent but unemotional soft rock. “I’ll Keep Your Memory Vagueâ€, “Window Songâ€, and the title track are generally interchangeable and do nothing to really distinguish themselves from one another. The rest of the disc is more up-tempo, but still lacks any sort of emotional impact; it’s technically solid, and sounds good enough, but it doesn’t resonate emotionally and leaves the listener uninterested.
Finger Eleven has developed into a very technically sound band that has an obvious idea of how to make music, but Them vs. You vs. Me shows that and little else. There are some very good tracks on the disc, but the majority of the tracks are songs that sound good but are largely unmemorable and leave no impact upon the listener. The end result is a CD that’s well produced and well created, but except for a few bright spots, is ultimately sound and fury that signifies nothing.
Website: Finger Eleven
