A nostalgic, melodic journey

The rock and roll band Stone Temple Pilots’ eighth studio album Perdida moves away from the bands earlier grunge movement to their first fully acoustic album blending sounds of rock and alternative. Frontman Jeff Gutt’s vocals lead the album, accompanied by Eric Kretz on drums and the brother-duo of Dean DeLeo on guitar and Robert DeLeo on bass and backing vocals.

The band opens the album with soft strums accompanied by Gutt’s sincere lyrics and phonics that carry along throughout the album. The new release brings a soul-bearing, delicate feeling with nostalgic words and gentle melodic styles. Compared to past releases, the tempos are slower but still manage to bring in moments of heavy guitar to incorporate the rock and roll feel they have mastered so well in the past.

The band’s website describes Perdida as “featuring 10 deeply personal songs that weave introspective lyrics together with unexpected instruments to take listeners on an emotional and musical journey,” and they deliver on that promise. Touching on topics of love, loss and self, songs like “Perdida” showcase the talent and ability of the genre-bending band and prove that they can dip their toes into other musical areas beyond just rock.

They even manage to integrate soothing flute solos in many songs like “I Didn’t Know the Time,” “05 Years” and “She’s My Queen.” In these songs and many others, nostalgia rains over the songs, and you can feel the love that is being delivered from the band to listeners as they deep dive into their hearts. The instrumental track towards the end “Once I Sat at Your Table” feels just right as the band’s alternative roots show.

Stone Temple Pilots definitely stay on a slow and steady track throughout the album, but still manage to diversify and deliver abrasive sonic packages. The highlight of the album is the classic instruments they bring in. Tambourine, flute, shakers, piano and violin all make this album an eclectic masterpiece. They close out the album by highlighting Gutt’s vocal range, as well as the bands flexibility and adaptability to different tunes, as well as their love for vintage instruments like the violin.

Unfortunately, the band had to cancel their Perdida tour due to an injury from lead singer Jeff Gutt. He’s expected to make a full recovery, and they plan to continue with their Australia tour and Nickelback tour later in the year. They hope to reschedule their Perdida tour for later this year.