Candlebox


The 1993 self-titled debut from Candlebox was instantly popular. And i mean instant. And for good reason. They blended what at the time seemed like completely incompatible worlds in the form of the new, grungier Alternative Rock and late 80s Hard Rock. Mopey, introverted songs with squiggly wailing lead guitar all over them. Innovatively nostalgic, you might say. Unlike their big name peers Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Smashing Pumpkins, the year old infant gazelle that was Silverchair, or Dinosaur Jr., Candlebox felt like they had way more in common with Ugly Kid Joe and Soundgarden, only without the intentional obnoxiousness of the former. The whole album was jukebox worthy Hard Rock, and it got played. 

I still say grunge isn't a genre, and critics at the time didn't consider it one either. Alternative and "pop-metal" seemed to be the most prominent labels in use, but they also refused to let stuff like this stand too close to "mainstream" in their minds. It was all "pop" back then, some of it just had really oversaturated guitar tones. I agree it's all pop, but i don't agree Candlebox was run of the mill, or worse "scenesuckers," in that context. They formed in 1989, Dave Grohl wasn't even in Nirvana yet, so it's a tad bit nonsense to call them "late for the party." They were at the party, they just didn't see anybody who knew them until people started passing out. Let's enjoy. 

They are guilty of the dreaded track-2 cooldown, but we can let that slide in the context of "Hello, audience. We are Candlebox, and these are songs!" Personally i think switching You and Change flows better, but i was legit 12 years old and thousands of miles away when the made it, so it's totally fair i wasn't consulted. The rest of the album vacillates like that, so the bipolar thing sounds pretty intentional. It's clearly supposed to be a random crap album, so that means they did a good job. I don't know that i need or want to follow through with more of their albums, but for their first time at bat i'd say they whacked it out of the park. Run the bases boys, you earned it.

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