Singles Roundup: Pale Waves, Myles Kennedy, All That Remains, & The Offspring

This week in the grab bag:

Pale Waves - Perfume

Following this band has been a bit of a ride. I really loved their debut album, but they quickly moved off of their cold synth-pop-rock toward brighter pastures, possibly because of the criticism they received for being clones of The 1975. The records that followed didn't get better receptions, so it's interesting to hear this single bringing them back to the beginning. This song is right in line with where the band started, from the cold atmosphere to Heather's falsetto leaps in the chorus. You could call it a re-write of "Television Romance", but following the lead of their best song is by no means a bad thing. I don't know if this is a harbinger of a full-on return to form, but we can hope. This is the most I've been intrigued by Pale Waves since their debut.

Myles Kennedy - Say What You Will

With this song from his third solo album, Myles is now entering the same territory as his bandmate Mark Tremonti; Why is this happening? Alter Bridge has had enough diversity in their sound that Tremonti's records now sound almost like a continuation of the main band, and this song is giving me the same vibes. Myles first solo album was wildly different, and he's been drifting back into familiar territory. I like the song, and it's perfectly fine, but it almost feels like it exists only because of the Creed reunion taking up the time that would have been used to record this for Alter Bridge.

All That Remains - Divine/Let You Go

A lot of people seemed to hate their last album, but to this day I still enjoy it way more than I should (minus the intolerable "Fuck Love"). A lot has happened to the band since then, but they are now poking their head out once again, and the results are mixed. The hooks don't hit with the same power as before, but the rage comes through in the screams in spades. That tilt may appeal to the usual fans, but it doesn't have the same sway over me. These songs are enjoyable enough, but I'm not feeling like I need to keep going down this road.

The Offspring - Make It All Right

One of my favorite ironies of music is that The Offspring have written some of the corniest trash I've ever heard, and yet Dexter has a PhD. I'm not sure if that's an indictment of higher education, or if it means he is intentionally playing down to the lowest common denominator. Either way, their last album was one of the worst I've ever heard, so any improvement this song represents needs to be taken in context. There is improvement, but not much. The song doesn't have a strong hook, the vocal sample is both poorly chosen and poorly integrated into the mix, and the production makes me wonder if they merely licensed Bob Rock's name. "Smash" is not a 'good' recording from a technical standpoint, but it serves as a reminder of how much The Offspring have scrubbed off anything that ever made them interesting. They are glossy and polished, and you realize the pain never had any depth. It's flat, unappealing, and vaguely the color of dried crap.