Well, now it is already been clear! Since the development of the new decade our heroes have decided to challenge us musically: "Pearl Jam", "Incubus", "Foo Fighters", "Smashing Pumpkins" and also "Stone Temple Pilots" the subject of our review. All have released different albums, different from their "comfort zone"!
Bands that drove with us for years on the highway took the exit out of it and got off Highway 6 at the "Magic" interchange. Those of us who lingered, blinked and were not quick to make a decision, missed the exit and will have to wait for the next exit to join the musical journey of these artists and others, who have undergone a process of change in recent years, some will say blessed and some will say misfortune.
On February 7, 2020, Stone Temple Pilots released their eighth studio album - "Perdida".
We admit, this time we were not among those virtuous individuals who got off the highway on time, maybe it's the taste, maybe it's the age that works negatively on our musical reflexes, but we must admit that at first hearing it sounds detached, unconnected, "lost" just like the translation of the title Perdida from Spanish.
But as we listened more to this album, we felt we were able to recover from the initial shock and slowly align the range towards teaming up with the band and the album, and slowly joining those virtuous individuals, quick to make a decision that never cut off contact.
The friends from San Diego have been through quite a few upheavals over the years. The addictions, the quarrels, the problems of behavior, the parting not one song but two. But in 2018 things seem to be getting more connected for the grunge scene veterans, with the album bearing the band's name and with the new singer coming out of "X Factor" Jeff Gutt. It seems that the choice to label the 2018 album with the band's name was not a random decision, and it marked a kind of new beginning for STP. Later we got them to perform here in Tel Aviv and witnessed with our own eyes the growing connection and the chemistry that is being formed between the old friends and their new frontman.
But just when we thought we would continue to get more from that old and familiar STP, "Perdida" arrived, preying on the cards and making it clear to us how right John Lennon was when he wrote that life is what happens to you when you're busy making other plans.
In this album we found no trace of the raw and biting STP of the 1990s. It's not even quite the same band we knew in the acoustic tracks from the album "Purple" and the like, and it created a certain disappointment for us. But then suddenly a miraculous thing happened. In the third or fourth listening we were able to understand what they wanted to tell us.
We were able to hear the acoustic Chris Cornell of "Euphoria Mourning" and "Higher Truth" to the tune of "Fare Thee Well" and the guitars and percussion of "Three Wishes". We recognized Steve Howe's classic and unique playing style in the theme song "Perdida", and we got deja vu from the album "Led Zeppelin III" upon hearing the opening of "She's My Queen". We brought up fond memories of the sounds of the violin solo on the waltz "Miles Away" that managed to take us back to another immortal violin from Bob Dylan's song "One More Cup of Coffee", from the masterful album "Desire", and the flutes? Yes, yes there are also flutes that sometimes hover over the music and are reminiscent of "Camel" or "Focus" as in the "I Didn't Know the Time" and sometimes aggressive and cheeky reminiscent of "Jethro Tull" as in the song "She's My Queen". The melody and vocals on "Years" sounded to us like Lenny Kravitz and the saxophone solo there threw us into progressive tracks from the 1970s. And there's even a not-so-bad instrumental piece - "I Once Sat at Your Table".
So true, it's not a typical "STP" album and you will not be able to hear here even one rough riff or a small power cord for the cure. True, there is nothing different or innovative here, but there is still an album here that manages to make us miss past and beautiful times, manages to elaborate on the capillaries of emotion and reminds us how much fun it is to suddenly press the brake, just halfway, and break out into a side road, Seeing the scenery, smelling nature and living the moment, a magical break, in the middle of all the hustle and bustle around.
So let's hit the brakes for a moment, stop the demanding routine for three quarters of an hour and listen to this magical album at: Spotify, Apple Music