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URSA MAJOR

Third Eye Blind

Buy? Not worth it

After a six year hiatus Third Eye Blind has finally come out with their fourth album Ursa Major. Even though the band has only retained its founding member Stephen Jenkins, with two new members Tony Friedeanelli and Brad Hargreaves jumping onto the 3eb bandwagon, the band has managed to maintain its original sound.In the opening lines of the album’s first released single, ‘Don’t believe a word,’ Jenkins raves, “Cigarette fingers, ember stain/Incriminating notes on a paper chain/Did you ever get the feeling that you’ve been cheated?/I wanna bust out, I’ve not been defeated,” setting the tempo for a catchy chorus embedded in the band’s alternative rock style.

But as the album progresses songs like ‘Why cant be,’ ‘Dao of St. Paul’ and ‘Summer Town’ fall flat with poor lyricism and run of mill themes. In a time when artists as big as U2 and Coldplay are feeling the need to experiment by stepping out of their comfort zone, Third Eye Blind stays well within their comfort zone and does a poor job of doing so. The album picks up with tracks like ‘Can you take me’ but a song or two is not sufficient to keep this sinking ship a sail. Ursa Minor, the next on offer from Third Eye Blind is on its way and we certainly hope it does better.

PRIYANKA AGRAWAL, Graduate, Calcutta University

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