ARTIST: Nickelback
ALBUM: No Fixed Address
LABEL: Republic
RELEASE DATE: November 17, 2014
It’s Love or Hate
Written by Silas Valentino
Let’s just nip this in the bud right off the bat: Nickelback—though the Internet’s favorite musical punching bag—have sold over 50-million records worldwide since their 2001 breakthrough. Anytime singer Chad Kroeger reads his name covered in mud, I’m sure the millions of dollars he’s earned quickly remedies any pain.
That spot Nickelback sits cradled between hard and pop rock is hit repeatedly on their eighth outing, titled No Fixed Address for it was recorded in studios all around the world and not just in one setting, and the Canadian rock band toys with a few left turns (including a rap verse from Flo Rida) to justify their expansion. No Fixed Address will satisfy fans who’ve been waiting the last three years for more material but there’s not enough charge to convert the legion of vocal Nickelback mockers.
Kicking in No Fixed Address’s door is album opener “Million Miles an Hour” featuring crunchy guitars and lyrics detailing an explosive narcotics episode. “I like this everlasting pill,” Kroeger sings, “…Cos you and I are tripping balls.” Though sophomoric and coming off like it was written by someone who’s never touched an illegal substance, Nickelback remains dedicated to the track and play it with enough tenacity to keep it convincing.
Lead single “Edge of a Revolution” bursts out of the speakers with the same anger felt by a first-year sociology student after learning of Building 7. Kroeger and gang spit venom at the NSA and the fat cats on Wall Street leading up to the track’s climatic rally cry of “What do we want/We want change/And how we’re gonna get there/Revolution!”
If No Fixed Address was a movie, Kroeger stated he didn’t want it to just be an action film with a repetitious scene-after-scene bursts of energy. This is why tracks “What Are You Waiting For,” Satellite” and “Miss You” pop in and act as coolant, leaning the foot off the gas pedal. “What Are You Waiting For” is tickled with pop hooks and offers a stadium-worthy chorus that’ll have Nickelback fans on their feet this upcoming summer. Whereas the track “Miss You” is much more subdued and plays as a full-on ballad featuring some light glockenspiel if you perk your ears up during the second verse.
All the roads on Address lead to “Got Me Runnin’ Around” the record’s penultimate standout where Nickelback incorporate some spare but effective horns and collaborate with hit rapper Flo Rida. An ode to women, “Got Me Runnin’ Around” has Kroeger telling his muse, “And now we’re buying diamonds/Said it’s only 20 karats it can’t be that hard to find it, baby.” (Kroeger’s wife Avril Lavigne Tweeted last July that she received a 17-karat ring from Kroeger for their one-year anniversary, so either Kroeger likes to round up or…) Flo Rida’s contribution grooves and proves whatever it is he’s pronouncing doesn’t matter nearly half as much as how he’s rhythmically rapping it.
No Fixed Address is a 45-minute rocker that’ll tack on a few more years to Nickelback’s vitality. Like them or not, the only thing you can’t do is ignore Nickelback.