Finger Eleven - Them Vs. You Vs. Me (Cd)
 

Finger Eleven know how to write a great chorus. The inoffensive light rock of ‘Them Vs. You Vs. Me’ would be unremarkable if it wasn’t bursting with choruses you won’t be able to get out of your head. Of course, their catchiness is occasionally irritating. There’s something especially annoying about the super-slick groove of opening-track ‘Paralyzer’ but, strangely, the more you listen to Finger Eleven, the less annoying they become. This is probably because you give up all hope of ever getting those choruses out of your head and just accept the inevitability of liking them.

A key ingredient of Finger Eleven’s perfect choruses is their build-up. The pre-chorus drum roll of ‘Paralyzer’ in particular is a stroke of genius that’ll secure your interest, before sucking you straight into that slickly addictive chorus. Similarly, the burst of pre-chorus acoustic guitar in ‘Falling On’ makes the chorus riffs feel heavier than they actually are. It’s a clever trick, kidding fans of heavier music that ‘Falling On’ rocks harder than it actually does, while keeping proceedings light enough for those who like their rock more melodic. This is true of the majority of this album, as Finger Eleven prove themselves adept at hedging their bets and turning out songs that the majority of people will like.

‘Them Vs. You Vs. Me’ takes very few risks, but one such risk is ‘Sense of a Spark.’ Surrounded by so many radio-ready songs, ‘Sense of a Spark’ feels like a complete curveball, consisting of awkward stop-start riffs that ricochet off one another like shrapnel, and a catchy indie chorus. It isn’t as immediate as the rest of the album, but by the third or fourth listen you’ll be addicted to those oddball riffs and seeing that instant indie chorus as a bit of a cop out.

‘So-So Suicide’ and ‘Lost My Way’ are less obvious examples of Finger Eleven taking a risk, but they’re notable in that they see the band forsake some of their pop leanings. While ‘Lost My Way’ is a snooze fest of repetitive lyrics and hook-free riffs, ‘So-So Suicide’ is a consumer-savvy attempt at a song with a synthetic hard-rock edge. ‘So-So Suicide’ may be geared towards fans of heavier music, but the chorus still administers a dose of pop, with vocalist Scott Anderson carefully pitching each vocal for maximum pop appeal.

At the other end of the scale is ‘Gather and Give.’ Here, Finger Eleven take the accessible thing too far and begin to sound distinctly boyband. The chorus is sung en-mass over cheesy hand-clapping sound effects, and the lyrics have a distinct whiff of popstar about them (“I’m gathering up the truth / and I’m giving it all to you.”) Against such a backdrop, Anderson’s expert delivery sounds too slick, and only adds to the song’s teenybopper feel. Finger Eleven can’t afford too many songs like this if they want to keep their rock credentials.

‘Them Vs. You Vs. Me’ is the sort of album that wouldn’t be complete without a ballad, and Finger Eleven give us not one, but four, to varying degrees of success. ‘Window Song’ is all meandering guitars and breathy vocals, but without the pop hooks it becomes clear that there’s little emotion behind their song writing.

‘Change The World’ is in a similar vein, but with some seriously nauseating lyrics (“don’t you believe girl / you change the world / at least you change the world for me, girl.”) Self-pity stinks up the first half of the song, but it does manage to redeem itself with bucket loads of lush riffs and Anderson’s urgent vocals towards the end. You’ll want to dislike the self-pitying ‘Change The World,’ and you’ll want to dislike ‘Window Song’ for its numb lyrics, but ultimately Finger Eleven are too easy on the ear to really dislike.
‘I’ll Keep Your Memory Vague’ and ‘Talking To The Walls’ are the best of the ballad bunch. ‘I’ll Keep….’ has Finger Eleven’s trademark immediate chorus, and is so catchy that you’ll have no problem sitting through its vaguely heartachey lyrics and pleasant strumming a second, third or fourth time.

‘Talking To The Walls’ boasts an equally addictive chorus. Again, the lyrics won’t strain your tear-ducts, but Anderson’s impassioned vocals create the impression that the lyrics are more emotional than they actually are, lifting this song above the other three ballads.

Finger Eleven conclude matters with ‘Easy Life’ which sees pop hooks and Anderson’s perfect delivery blended with synths, atmospheric backing vocals and towering riffs, in this album’s most innovative track. It snowballs to a dramatic end-section of huge riffs and urgent vocals, but this stirring end-section is then looped until fade. It’s a surprising and unnecessary trail-off ending for a song with so much potential.

‘Them Vs. You Vs. Me’ is a very consumer-savvy album, dishing out poppy choruses, acoustic interludes and heavy riffs in all the right places. This may make Finger Eleven formulaic (you already know how many of these songs will pan out before you’ve even heard them the whole way through) but Finger Eleven’s formula means that you always get pretty much what you want. This could make them very successful, in a everyone-quite-likes-Linkin-Park kind of way. But, there are also a few intriguing moments that leave you with the sneaking suspicion that Finger Eleven have the ability to be much more inventive than they currently are, and it would be a shame if they didn’t explore this more in the future.