Black Candy Store Back to the Wall
by Justin Gaines
Staff Writer
Back to the Wall is the debut album from French alternative rock band Black Candy Store. 2010 seems a bit late to be hearing from a new grunge band, let alone one from France, but Black Candy Store has warmly embraced the American alternative rock sound.
Black Candy Store doesn’t even follow in the footsteps of the first wave grunge bands like Pearl Jam and Soundgarden. Instead, Back to the Wall sounds like something a band like Marcy Playground, Dishwalla or Better Than Ezra might have recorded. It bypasses the angst and fury of the early ‘90s Seattle scene and goes straight to the cookie-cutter, radio-friendly malaise of the mid-to-late ‘90s “alternative” sound. Even the album’s most rocking moments – the hook-laden title track and the heavy “The Pledge” – aren’t enough to shake the general feeling of apathy Back to the Wall inspires. It takes you right back to a time best forgotten, when bands turned their back on the virtues of rocking and rolling all night and partying every day.
None of this is to say Back to the Wall is a bad album. It is fairly melodic and the lyrics are emotional and intelligent, not to mention somewhat socially conscious. It’s just odd to see a new band embrace a genre that most of us instinctively recoil from. Perhaps this is what goes through the minds of reviewers at alternative rock sites when the latest albums by Airbourne or Bang Camaro arrive in the mail. Unless you’re pining for the days of interchangeable flannel-clad mope-rockers, you’ll probably want to skip this one.
Genre: Alternative Rock
Band:
Arno (v)
Julien (g) (k) (v)
Marco (b) (v)
Flo (d)
Track Listing:
1. Back To the Wall
2. Someday
3. Swine Seed
4. Recall
5. Wounded
6. Hollow
7. Humility
8. Bittersweet Euphoria
9. The Pledge
10. Upward Spiral
Label: 7Hard
Website: www.myspace.com/blackcandystore
Hardrock Haven rating: 5/10