Nickelback all about rock 'n' roll on new album

2 out of 5 stars

By: Elizabeth Ruocco

Posted: 11/20/08

Nickelback has been around for a long time, and, to be honest, it seems as if no one can explain the longevity of their musical career. All of their songs have the same beats, rhythms and themes to them. Generally, an originality and depth of musical knowledge lacks in their music, and this is no exception with their new album "Dark Horse."

On their new album, the band writes about everything from sex and alcohol to finding true love - talk about extremes. It is odd how the group goes from singing about a girl who looks good with "Something In Her Mouth" (from their song "Something In Your Mouth") to wondering if they will ever find true love in "Gotta Be Somebody."

"Gotta Be Somebody" is a decent song that has some meaning behind it, but after realizing it's sung by the same people who sing about sex always being the answer, and never a question (in their song "S.E.X.") one can't help but look at it from a different perspective. It's just hard to fathom how the group can be sincere about some of their lyrics, such as those in "Gotta Be Somebody" and "I'll Come For You," when they paint images of vulgar scenes in their other lyrics.

In "Shakin' Hands" they sing about a girl who "is making six figures three days a week" and didn't do this by "shakin' hands." They also say that you have to "get dirty when digging for gold." The song completely downplays work ethic and conveys a lack of values within the musicians.

Their songs seem to always come back to sex, alcohol, drugs or true love. There is no middle ground within their lyrics. "Gotta Be Somebody" and 'I'll Come for You' are well-written and meaningful songs, but, when coupled with all of their other songs on the album, they simply get lost in the big picture.