Nickelback

Chad Kroeger continues to question himself, creating the interesting mix of self-loathing and bravado that resulted in world record sales in excess of 29 million -- even non-fans can hum "How You Remind Me." The band's third outing is a little more adventurous, with Peter Frampton-esque voice boxes, fat but sludgy riffs and a surprisingly elegant slide guitar on "Hangnail." The lyrics are more poetic and injured, touching on matters of abuse, complicated relationships and, once again, the fear of dashed dreams.

If you listen to modern-rock radio, then you've heard Nickelback. This Canadian quartet's
second album, Silver Side Up, sounds powered by Fuel, motivated by Creed and stained by,
uh, Staind. Nearly every song seems trapped in the amber of early-Nineties Seattle
aesthetics, the sonic equivalent of too many unfortunate goatees. It's all here: loud-soft
dynamics, a lighter-waving power ballad, aggro lyrics that touch on all the expe... More >