I decided not to write anything about the new Daft Punk record here because, wow, who didn’t have something to say about it? (Mostly unmitigated, unabashed praise… and I’m afraid I couldn’t have done that, as I found the album kind of dull in several ways. But we’re not here to talk about that…) However, I noted at the store recently that Filter have a new record out, The Sun Comes Out Tonight.
I’m probably not the most representative Filter fan. Title Of Record is one of my favorite albums ever. There simply are no bad songs on it, and it’s one of the few albums not made by Genesis or Midnight Oil that I’ll listen to all the way through and not want to press the “skip” button. Conversely, I find most of the next album, The Amalgamut, to be some combination of annoying, offensive, and trite. (I’ve joked that the sole purpose of The Amalgamut is to give us the song “The Only Way (Is The Wrong Way)” which is an absolute gem.)
The few reviews I could find for the new album indicated a return to early form, and I’m okay with that. Do what you wanna, as I’ve said about artists time and again. So I spent some of my precious monthly eMusic dollars and downloaded the new work.
The Sun Comes Out Tonight leads off strong with two barn-burners (the excellently NSFW “We Hate It When You Get What You Want” and the snarkily-anthemic “What Do You Say”) and a solid ballad (“Surprise”) and if you’ve heard Filter on the radio you know what to expect. From there on it settles into a middle stretch of thoroughly passable loud-and-angry fare, then finishes with the romantic ballad “It’s Just You.” It’s the standard pop-record layout: Front-load the really good stuff and hope people stick around for the rest. Nothing here is going to revolutionize music. On the other hand, if you like the Filter songs you’ve heard on the radio before, then this is exactly the kind of thing you’ll like and I can recommend the purchase without reservation.
Just… don’t play that first song while at the office. Trust me on this.