Lead track “Paralyzer” is the best microcosm of Finger Eleven’s latest opus Them Vs. You Vs. Me. A fusion of Nickelback’s ugly sludge rock sound with the energy and poppiness of Franz Ferdinand, the whole ends up far less than the sum of its parts. Stylistically, the album sounds incredibly cynical–it’s an attempt at a cash-in, finding two bands that are immensely popular and co-opting their style into a single record and pawning it off as unique. Unfortunately, it sounds more like the bastard child of Chad Kroeger and Bob Hardy instead.
The album smacks of plagiarism, not only in its sound, but in its lyrics. With such incredibly cliched songs titles as “Lost My Way” and “Change The World,” there is no innovative–or at the very least interesting–content on the album. Everything is boring and safe. The album ends up as one of those life-affirming and deeply-meaningful albums for 14-year-olds fresh out of a two-week fling.
Although Them Vs. You Vs. Me will sell a lot of copies because one sort-of catchy song ended up on Big Shiny Tunes, the album peaks with this lead track–and since it’s their single, you can get it for much cheaper elsewhere.