The Long Goodbye, the eighth and reported last album, of Seattle’s Candlebox, sees the band treading over a milieu of influences, sounds and eras of music. This is no surprise, considering the band’s now thirty year span and the ever-changing sound of rock music throughout the past three decades, which the band attempts to channel on this album. The results are often explosive, melodic and thoughtful, however, not every track lands quite as strong.
The opening track and lead single off the album, “Punks,” is a perfect tone setter. The growling bassline and drum fills carry the verses into an explosive guitar and drum mashup at the chorus, which contains some crucial lyrics about the bands perspective on their lengthy career; “We’re the punks, we’re the same ones that you fear / We paved these streets, that’s why you’re here.”
Candlebox continues to prove their mastery of hard rock songwriting throughout the first half of the album. On the tracks “Elegante” and “Nails On A Chalkboard,” lead singer Kevin Martin employs soaring vocals and melodic hooks on the elevated choruses, tapping into vocal arrangements reminiscent of the ’90’s Seattle grunge scene they were raised from.
While the second half of the album offers more stylistic diversity, it fails to keep the same consistency. “Ugly” reminisces on the influence of leaders and celebrities in today’s society while still maintaining slick instrumentation and punchy drum breaks, but the chorus comes off as too on the nose, awkward and disjointed. The band then divulges into influences of progressive rock and psychedelic rock on the tracks “Maze” and “Cellphone Jesus,” but unfortunately falls into songwriting and instrumentation cliches. The same can be said about the track “Foxy,” which sounds like a rip-off of radio-friendly pop-punk hits from the 2000’s. These tracks also fail to deliver on the concept of a send-off lyrically and tonally.
However, the band knocks it out of the park on “Hourglass.” The piano chords, the vocals and chord progressions bridge elements of ’90’s and contemporary rock music. The lyrics perfectly encapsulate the band’s emotions towards saying goodbye, as they reflect on the passing of time; “The hourglass is breaking / The sand are pouring out / It’s right there for the taking / The clock is running down.” This is a prime example of what makes The Long Goodbye great at moments and how Candlebox has a knack for writing catchy, straightforward rock ballads. It is a great sendoff for the band, even if The Long Goodbye has some weaker moments.
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