Down On The Upside

About

For a band that spent their career evolving—from the scrappy, noisy punk of debut album <i>Ultramega OK</i> to the metallic <i>Badmotorfinger</i> and more nuanced <i>Superunknown</i>—it’s no surprise that Soundgarden approached their fifth album looking to further experiment with their sound. <i>Down On the Upside</i> wa, however, more a refinement of their approach on <i>Superunknown</i> than a radical reboot. While introducing instrumentation such as mandolin and mandola (the furious “Ty Cobb”), Rhodes piano (“Overfloater”), and Moog (“Applebite”), the trademark elements that catapulted <i>Superunknown</i> to mainstream acclaim—Chris Cornell’s anguished/angelic vocals and introspective lyrics; their ability to craft anthemic rock songs without compromising their artistic vision; their freewheeling approach to complicated time signatures—remained very much intact. Following the protracted sessions for <i>Superunknown</i> with producer Michael Beinhorn, the quartet opted to co-produce <i>Down On the Upside</i> with engineer Adam Kasper, favoring a rawer aesthetic over their laboriously crafted predecessor. The contrast between the LP’s more commercial moments is stark—while “Pretty Noose” (about an attractively packaged bad idea) and the “Black Hole Sun”-esque “Blow Up the Outside World” speak very much of a band au fait with commercial expectation, “Never the Machine Forever” (guitarist Kim Thayil’s sole contribution to the record) is a growling, aggressive throwback to the band’s earlier output; the downbeat, atmospheric “Applebite” drowns Cornell’s vocals in a distant haze; while “Never Named” is a two-and-a-half minute exercise in punk abandon. .

via Apple Music

The Clerk says

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