Since their formation in San Francisco in 1993, Third Eye Blind have had a couple of hit singles including “Semi-Charmed Life” in 1997 and “Never Let You Go” in 2000.
Although their sound have gone through some changes since then with a number of musicians joining and leaving the band, Third Eye Blind have remained relatively consistent in terms of sound. However, this American rock band’s recent release of “Dopamine” on June 15th can almost be considered too consistent in terms of sound for several songs. That is to say, some of the songs are almost monotonous and don’t have a lot of changes in pitch whether it be in the vocalist (Stephan Jenkins) or the guitar (Kryz Reid). The few songs that do have this monotonous element are often balanced out with very lively and upbeat support instrumentals or vocals.
The lyrics throughout the album aren’t elegant or filled with poetic metaphors; rather, it’s more told as a straight forward story with hidden meanings and references although they can be presented in an almost crude way. Grace may have never been the goal when it comes to presentation for Third Eye Blind though.
The background or settings for the majority of the tracks, along with the topics the band focuses on, hardly need any sort of refined artistry to make it simplistically enjoyable. There aren’t many complicated guitar riffs or impressive vocals and the band seems keen on doing a lot of repetition in the lyrics. Track seven, “Something in You” is a prime example of this, but at the same time it also gives a good indication as to how the album is paced.
Despite the long music history and few hit singles the band has, Third Eye Blind continues to grow and change as a band while somewhat maintaining the sound they originally began with. In a way, “Dopamine” can be a considered the most recent proof of the small changes they have gone through to create the music they have today.
