New Gin Blossoms Cd Lacks Spark
It’s unfair to judge the Gin Blossoms by the company they used to keep, but at the same time it’s impossible to overlook it.
Long story short: Doug Hopkins wrote the Blossoms’ best songs. His descent into an alcoholic hell ended with him taking his own life after he was kicked out of the band.
Thus “Congratulations I’m Sorry” has some double meanings in its title - the Blossoms’ multiplatinum success is tempered by Hopkins’ suicide.
It’s not quite the same as, say, Nirvana going on without Kurt Cobain. But Hopkins’ compositions were the heart of the breakthrough “New Miserable Experience,” and it was his “Hey Jealousy” that broke the band big. It’s churlish to blame those who didn’t kill themselves for not being as talented as the one guy who did.
Yet there’s nothing on “Congratulations I’m Sorry,” due out Tuesday, nearly as compelling or just as plainly real as Hopkins’ earthy, fatalistic, sometimes harrowing songs.
Without that spark, what you’ve got left is a quite competent rock ‘n’ roll band that has a knack for writing pleasant songs. Think of “Till I Hear It From You” from the “Empire Records” soundtrack. These are simple, catchy songs, but the lyrics could be written - or sung - by almost anyone.
Instead of the strong gardens-and-graveyards imagery of “Lost Horizons” or wandering desperation of “Hey Jealousy,” you’ve instead got the vague promises of “Follow You Down” and wan wishes of “Virginia” - songs seemingly written for a hook rather than from the heart.
The songs are penned by committee now, losing the sharp point of view, yet blending a better variety of influences. No longer does the band sound like a Byrds/Tom Petty knockoff.
The trademark harmonies are there, however, in songs such as “Follow You Down” and the chiming, tasteful guitars in “Not Only Numb.”
The band goes country - modern, not Hank Williams-style - on the still-jangly, steel-guitar-powered “Memphis Time,” perhaps a reflection of recording in that city.
The closing “Competition Smile” recaptures some of the yearning ache of Hopkins’ best work, “I’m high and I’m hopeless/ help me to get on time … falling down in my mind.”
It’s a perfectly enjoyable album in this age of Hootie. Congratulations. I’m sorry.