Again in keeping with bands from back in the day, on the chopping block is the band 311. Now I remember hearing the song Down being played on the radio all the time when I was growing up and aside from their other radio hits. That being said, let’s take a look……..
Music- I guess if rock and reggae were to be fused together with rap, then this would probably be the end result. I mean you can tell that right from the get go that these guys had already had their sound in mind. As far as the album itself goes, it’s not bad but don’t expect to be blown away. 7/10
Standouts: Welcome, Unity, Plain
Grassroots- I feel like the tone on this album is muddy and after reading up,on this album it turns out that was the case. Not sure why they chose to do that but whatever. Anyway, there are some that regard this one as the best 311 album but I’m gonna save that opinion for a later time. I’ll give this one another 7/10
Standouts: Homebrew, Nutsymtom, Grassroots
311- ah yes now this was my introduction to this band with the song Down. I remember when I used to listen to 96.7 The Bus and KROQ, they always played this and I loved it. Now aside from the one song, the rest of the album is a good mix of rap, reggae, and rock. It’s a classic album what can I say so I’ll give this one 10/10
Standouts: Hive, Loco, Random
Transistor- so how do you follow up an album like the self titled? Well if you’re 311, you move away from the hip hop sound and have more reggae and alternative rock in the music. Now I do know that this one wasn’t as well received when it came out and yes I would agree that there is a good amount of filler on here but the album is not as bad as people said it was. They just need to have left off a few songs. I’ll give this one 8/10
Standouts: Transistor, Galaxy, Electricity
Soundsystem- so for this one they decided to go for a slightly heavier rock sound and some of the rap has been put back in the sound. I would say that this is probably their most rock sounding record and it’s actually a really good record so with that I’ll give this one 9/10
Standouts: Freeze Time, Flowing, Evolution
From Chaos- Like with this band, there are good songs, great songs, and meh songs and this album is no different. Does it feel like a natural progression after Soundsystem? Yes it does. Between this one and the last one, this one has less skipable songs. So I’ll give this 9.5/10
Standouts: Sick Tight, You Get Worked, Wake Your Mind Up
Evolver- This I had to listen to again but I actually liked it more on the second listen. The songs are actually pretty good and if you don’t like it at first I say go back to it and give it another chance like I did. Anyway, I’ll give this one 8/10
Standouts: Other Side Of Things, Creatures (For Awhile), Crack The Code
Don’t Tread On Me- so this one actually reminds me a lot of the last one. I actually think I listened to this one first before Evolver. I gotta say that this one is not as strong as Evolver. The songs re just ok and as a whole this one kinda falls flat. So with that, I’ll give this one 4/10
Standouts: Don’t Tread On Me, It’s Getting Ok Now
Uplifter- this one is very hit or miss. By that I mean there are some ok songs and some that are just downright boring. Not sure what they were thinking with this one but I just couldn’t really get into it. It’s maybe slightly better than the last record but that’s not saying a lot. I’ll give this one 4.5/10
Standouts: Daisy Cutter, Mix It Up
Universal Pulse- so right off the bat I noticed that this is by far their shortest record. It’s definitely a step up from the last couple albums and it does got to show that less it more. The songs themselves are pretty good too just don’t expect it to be like the self titled album. I’ll give this 7/10
Standouts: Time Bomb, Sunset In July, Count Me In
Stereolithic- This one I’d say is more of the same and I’m noticing that the biggest problem with these albums is that there are just too many songs. After awhile, this album starts to get boring. The songs themselves are just ok. So for that, I’ll give this one 6/10
Standouts: Ebb And Flow, The Great Divide
Mosaic- I think when this one came out, KROQ played the hell out of the song Too Much To Think. Now that song isn’t bad compared to all the other mainstream crap that’s out there. As far as the rest of the album goes, it’s boring. Like the songs aren’t bad songs but like I said before, there are just too many songs. I’m giving this one 5/10
Standouts: Island Sun, The Night Is Young
Voyager- finally we’ve reached the end of these albums. So with this one, the songs are just ok. They aren’t anything special and the album isn’t boring as much as it is too soft. Like I said many times, I don’t mind the slow stuff here and there but when a bulk of the record is like that, then I get bored with it. Anyway, this one is just meh. I’ll be giving this one 3/10
Standouts: Crossfire, Born To Live
I think it’s safe to say that with this band less is definitely more. The biggest problem is that there are just way too many songs on these records and it gets to a point where it’s annoying. Now that’s not to say that there aren’t some good records but overall, there are (I never thought I’d say this) too many of them. Honestly at the end of the day, all you need really is their greatest hits album (I just can’t stand their cover of The Cure’s Love Song). People who say that bands like Slayer make the same record but they’ve obviously never listened to 311 very much.
Final Grade: C
- 311
- From Chaos
- Soundsystem
- Transistor
- Evolver
- Music
- Universal Pulse
- Grassroots
- Stereolithic
- Mosaic
- Uplifter
- Don’t Tread On Me
- Voyager
Sinister Reviews 