Albums2010 #33: Tantric

I don't know what to say about this album. It didn't strike me as horrible music- because it wasn't but neither did it grab my attention all that much either. Tantric, to me, sounded an awful lot like Days Of The New (see #28)- and surprise, surprise there's a reason for that: these guys got fired from Days Of The New and started their own band. But the lack of originality in their sound was a little disappointing, dare I say, even derivative. Ghosts of bands like Alice In Chains, Days Of The New and even touches of Lifehouse, Nickelback and the usual collection of grunge forefathers all seem to echo in your ear like a bad case of tittinus.

I like grunge music. I really do- it's what I grew up with, right at that wonderful point between elementary school and junior high where you start paying attention to the radio. The early 90s dance crazy was fading out and there was that blissful moment between that and the rise of bubblegum pop that made music actually worth listening to. I was a huge fan of Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots and although I didn't listen to a lot of Nine Inch Nails, 'Closer' was a favorite of mine probably because the lyrics were so raw and dirty it appealed to my juvenile mind.

But if imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, in the cutthroat world of the music business having too many acts crowding into the market can't be a good thing either if it produces a glut of competition. And that to me, is the real problem I have with Tantric. Not that's its bad music, per say, because it's not. Not that I hated listening to this album, because I didn't, but because at the end of the day, you could exchange this with any number of post-grunge and grunge acts and it would sound pretty much exactly the same.

Call me crazy- maybe I'm picky, but if I want to appreciate and listen to a complete album, I'm looking for something a little less derivative than this. Did I like it? Sure. Did I enjoy it? Yes. But at the end of the album, I still kind of shrugged my shoulders and said 'meh.'

Overall: And I know this is a painfully short review- this album was not bad. But it wasn't amazing either... I'd say save yourself some cash and buy a plaid shirt and an Alice In Chains album. You'll probably get more out of it.