Nickelback isnB次元官网网址檛 losing any sleep over their rock legacy these days.
Once derided by some music fans as being among the most-hated bands of all time, the Alberta act has survived many sucker punches from critics and the din of negativity from naysayers on social media.
But with an upcoming Canadian Music Hall of Fame induction, a headlining spot at the Boots and Hearts festival next summer, and a brand new studio album out this month, the conversation around Nickelback is shifting from a point of ridicule to one that recognizes their contributions to pop culture.
Several years ago, a clip from their B次元官网网址淧hotographB次元官网网址� music video featuring lead singer Chad Kroeger gripping a picture frame became one of the internetB次元官网网址檚 favourite memes. While the image was used to at times mock Nickelback, it also made them omnipresent in a new corner of online conversation.
And streaming data shows that no matter how much people knock them, theyB次元官网网址檙e still listening to NickelbackB次元官网网址檚 hits enough to rank them among the top 500 artists on Spotify.
Asked about the divide between the hate and the plays, guitarist Ryan Peake offers a balanced take.
B次元官网网址淲e donB次元官网网址檛 think about that,B次元官网网址� he insisted in a recent interview. B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 always room for more listeners, for us. WeB次元官网网址檙e happy to see the numbers.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淕et RollinB次元官网网址�,B次元官网网址� their first full-length album in five years, suggests Nickelback might be thinking a little deeper than they let on.
The record effectively resets the bandB次元官网网址檚 sound to its familiar state after a few unusual turns that saw them collaborate with rapper Flo Rida in 2014 and a few years later release an album that some received as a soggy criticism of politics in the Donald Trump presidency.
Instead of taking unpredictable detours, B次元官网网址淕et RollinB次元官网网址橞次元官网网址� is a throwback to NickelbackB次元官网网址檚 glory days of the early aughts when they were inescapable on the radio and the punchline of music snobs.
Roaring album opener B次元官网网址淪an Quentin,B次元官网网址� inspired by a real-life prison warden, couldB次元官网网址檝e been recorded by Metallica a couple of decades ago, while B次元官网网址淭hose DaysB次元官网网址� features Kroeger performing whatB次元官网网址檚 effectively a sequel to B次元官网网址淧hotographB次元官网网址� where he runs off a list of generation X cultural touchstones, from date nights watching B次元官网网址淎 Nightmare on Elm StreetB次元官网网址� to punching in *69 on a landline.
Smack in the middle of the album thereB次元官网网址檚 the melodic, mid-tempo rock ballad B次元官网网址淭idal Wave,B次元官网网址� which opens with the sound of shoreline waves as Kroeger delivers verse after verse of aquatic metaphors. He compares love to surfing a disastrous force of nature, or as he describes it in the interview, a romance thatB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址渄angerously exciting, but we all know how itB次元官网网址檚 going to end.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淭idal WaveB次元官网网址� is as catchy as it is goofy, leaving it up to the listener to decide whether the band is in on the joke. Other tracks titled B次元官网网址淪kinny Little MissyB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址淪teel Still RustsB次元官网网址� suggest maybe they are.
Taken as a whole, B次元官网网址淕et RollinB次元官网网址橞次元官网网址� could be the closest Nickelback ever comes to a concept album, if you accept that its theme is built around a few buddies in their 40s cracking open beers to reflect on the good old days.
But Peake and Kroeger are quick to stamp down any suggestion Nickelback came to the table with a cohesive idea for the project, saying their creative process is too scattered.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檇 make a really terrible concept album,B次元官网网址� Peake said.
Even if Nickelback doesnB次元官网网址檛 co-sign the theory of a grander vision, itB次元官网网址檚 clear theyB次元官网网址檝e put some thought into recalculating their direction after 2017 album B次元官网网址淔eed the MachineB次元官网网址� was met with a tepid response from listeners and critics.
Released during the Trump presidency, the albumB次元官网网址檚 cover showed a faceless autocrat standing before an adoring crowd with robotic wires tethered to his back, which some took as a half-hearted attempt at a political statement that never played out beyond the title track.
Peake disputes the notion that Nickelback was ever trying to skewer Trump in the first place.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 like people looking at clouds in the sky,B次元官网网址� he said of drawing any sort of meaning from the concept.
B次元官网网址淪ome people just need to see something. I get that.B次元官网网址�
However they meant it to be received, B次元官网网址淔eed the MachineB次元官网网址� found mixed success. While it marked NickelbackB次元官网网址檚 highest chart debut in the United Kingdom, it was less popular in the United States, slumping to their lowest first-week sales since their breakthrough B次元官网网址淪ilver Side UpB次元官网网址� in 2001.
B次元官网网址淚 think at that point in time, politics was so blurred with showbiz that it was hard to discern what was what for a while,B次元官网网址� Kroeger said. B次元官网网址淎nd it felt like that was the thing that we all wanted to say: For better or for worse, regardless of whatever side youB次元官网网址檙e on, it doesnB次元官网网址檛 matter, because we donB次元官网网址檛 like to alienate.B次元官网网址�
They donB次元官网网址檛 write songs B次元官网网址渇or the left or the right,B次元官网网址� Kroeger added.
B次元官网网址淲e make songs for human beings and weB次元官网网址檙e all part of that race, IB次元官网网址檇 like to think.B次元官网网址�
The topic strikes up a debate between the two bandmates as they consider the merits of political commentary in rock music.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 really selfish when a band or artist wants to tell you so aggressively where they stand,B次元官网网址� Kroeger suggested.
B次元官网网址淢usic is supposed to be about enjoyment or escapism. ItB次元官网网址檚 not supposed to beB次元官网网址擝次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淲ell, Bob Dylan,B次元官网网址� Peake counters.
B次元官网网址淵eah. Someone else,B次元官网网址� Kroeger adds. B次元官网网址淲e donB次元官网网址檛 have that type of agenda. Our agenda is to go in, make music we enjoy, and hopefully our fans enjoy B次元官网网址�. ThatB次元官网网址檚 it, really.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淕et RollinB次元官网网址橞次元官网网址� keeps it as simple as that.
All 11 tracks sound like theyB次元官网网址檙e ready to be released as singles, blasted on a car stereo or belted out at a live show.
Peake hopes that will be enough to draw audiences back when Nickelback announces plans for a major tour in the near future. Their summer dates will include the stop at Boots and Hearts in Oro-Medonte, Ont., on Aug. 11.
Until then, heB次元官网网址檚 keeping his expectations in check.
B次元官网网址淭he climate around our band name changes back and forth,B次元官网网址� he said.
B次元官网网址淭he noise of social media, the noise of whatever is in the news at the time, popular opinion, blah, blah, blah.B次元官网网址�
He added: B次元官网网址淏ut thereB次元官网网址檚 a lot of unabashed enjoyment of the music, which is why weB次元官网网址檙e here B次元官网网址�. We want people to come and sing the songs. We want them to sing to us and to each other. ThatB次元官网网址檚 the most fun.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址擠avid Friend, The Canadian Press
